When the Moon Doesn't Shine
by Kachi-chan
Summary: This story takes place after New Moon. Edward did not come back for Bella, but Alice is determined to help Bella blend in at the University of Washington. When Bella disappears one day, will her knight in shining armor come save her?
1. New Beginnings

**Bella POV Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN THE TWILIGHT CHARACTERS. I just make my own stories with them. :) I accept constructive criticism but nothing else. If you like it good, if not, well you don't have to read it. I know sometimes I get repetitive and stuff and I'm not the best writer on the planet. Keep that in mind. Enjoy!**

I gazed around my room. It was mostly bare, finally. The last few hours of this morning was spent frantically packing. I procrastinated packing up the few stuff I own, for some reason I felt like I was not ready for college yet. All that remains now is a mattress, a chair, and a desk. Glancing at the room one last time, I noticed there was paint peeling off of the walls, revealing the wallpaper that I had while I was a baby. I sighed, turned, and carried the last of my belongings out of my room…my former room.

I heard the door bell ring and I trudged to the door. Opening it, I saw Jacob, not the person I was expecting.

"Jacob! What are you doing here?" I said with excitement in my voice.

"I couldn't let you leave without your going away present, silly. And I wanted to say a last goodbye to my favorite person on the earth."

My eyes drifted to Jacob's hand that held a bag with a card taped to the outside. He handed it to me with my favorite Jacob grin on his face.

"You can't open it until you are settled in your dorm room Bella, and I mean it!"

"Aww, Jake! This is amazing, thanks. I'm sure I'll love it. I can't wait to open it!"

Then, I saw a red convertible pull into the driveway. Jacob hissed and I looked at him. Reluctantly he took two of my suitcases, and I was left with the trunk (though it was not very big, and lighter than the suitcases). Alice hopped out of the car, anxious to get on the road and drive to school.

"Oh, that's why I feel blind," Alice grumbled. "Come on Bella, U of W registration starts in a couple of hours!!"

Jacob tossed my stuff in the car, and gave me a bone-crushing hug. "I love you Bella, come visit me when you can. I'm sure I will be lonely."

"Aw, Jake. I will, if I'm not buried in work first." I hopped into the convertible and buckled my seat belt. A wave of anxiety and excitement came over me. I knew college would be hard, but I could not help but wonder what would happen this year. College is finally here.

I looked back at all the trunks and suitcases that were piled on top of each other. "Jeez Alice! That's all yours?"

"No," Alice said matter-o-factly. "I already took most of my stuff down last night. I, uh, oh, don't do that Bella!" I had a grumpy look on my face. She did not have to finish her sentence for me to guess what she did. Alice went and bought me new clothes and decorations for our dorm room.

"If we are living in the same room, it is going to be enjoyable for both of us, okay?" Alice said.

"Fine." I spat. Alice turned on the radio and started singing in her beautiful bell-like soprano voice. I did not know any of the songs, so I just looked out the window at the gray clouds that covered the sky.

The car ride did not last long, Alice sped so fast, just like Edward I thought. Oh no, I brought up that again. I bit my lip hoping the tears would not start. Things were hard enough without thinking about the E-word. Alice looked at me and sighed.

"Bella, we're not going to start this again. College is going to start your life over. You're lucky I can go through this with you."

"You're right Alice, I would still be a wreck had you not come back." And that was the truth. Jacob helped heal the wound in my heart, but it did not come anywhere close to what Edward meant to me. Life has been a blur since he left almost a year ago. I was dreading my birthday again this year, I do not want anyone to acknowledge it, and I made that very clear a month ago when Alice asked what I wanted. A single tear floated out of my left eye, I tried covering it up so Alice would not see.

"Bella, it's fine, really. We'll have an amazing time this year. College is so fun." It started to pour outside, and it seemed like the rain matched my mood. I folded my arms across my chest and just thought about other things. No matter what, though, I always connect it to Edward. I had given up on the motorcycles with Jacob because hearing Edward's voice haunted me at night. I was just a coward.

Alice found a parking spot very close to our dorm. She stepped out of the car and waved to people I did not know. They looked to be big, muscular men. She motioned for them to come toward us, and I knew that they were going to help carry our belongings to our room. There were four of them, two of them had jerseys on, and the other two had football sweatshirts.

One of them, with blonde hair turned toward me "Hello, my name is Ryan, what's yours?"

"Bella, Bella Swan." I stuck my hand out and shook his. He had a very firm grasp. His hand seemed warm, but not Jacob warm. He smiled at me.

"Bella, that's a very nice name. What's your major?" Uh-oh, I had not thought about that part yet.

I panicked and said "well, undergraduate right now I guess." Ryan chuckled at my confusion.

"I guess I'm in that boat too, so you're taking some of the basic classes then. Maybe we'll have one together. Why don't we leave the other guys to carry in your stuff and I'll take you to get your schedule." I looked nervously at Alice, and she nodded and winked at me.

"Okay, I guess. Registering would be a good idea. I need to set up my meal plan and get my ID taken too."

"Well I'm sure you would like company, I'll show you around, it's a very big campus," Ryan said. I had been to U of W several times and generally knew my way around, but I decided to go with it anyway.

"Sure, lead away." I saw out of the corner of my eye Alice warming up to the other football players and she gave me a thumbs-up and laughed.


	2. New Acquaintances

**Here's chapter two! Hope you enjoy it.**

Ryan seemed like a very nice guy. He told me about his high school career, and I just walked with him and listened politely. I told him about Reneé and Phil, and Charlie and Forks. I left out everything to do with Edward. He asked how I knew Alice and I told him she was my best friend in high school and we decided that we wanted to explore college together. Ryan told me about how his best friend died of cancer last year. They were planning to play football here together. I felt a certain level of sympathy for him, and my heart ached remembering the kind of pain I felt last year.

It was already three in the afternoon, Ryan walked me to my dorm room. I was on the third story. Alice was already packed and settled, of course. I knocked on the door, because I did not have a key to get inside.

"Wow, Alice, this place looks great. You sure worked hard," I said. I winked at her and sat down on my new bed. Ryan looked astonished at everything Alice accomplished in an hour. Though Alice and I knew that she was working at her vampire speeds.

"So, Bella," Alice said quickly changing topics. "Introduce me to your new friend here!" She winked this time and went closer to Ryan.

"Oh, Alice, this is Ryan. And Ryan, I've already told you about Alice."

"Nice to meet you Alice," Ryan said. He stuck his hand out but Alice did not shake his hand.

"Likewise!" Alice said sitting on the bed next to me.

"Well, Bella, I have to go find my other buddies, football practices starts in an hour and I forgot I need to go lift some weights. It was wonderful to have met you, maybe sometime we can go out to eat at the cafeteria, or get a cup of coffee together?"

"Sure Ryan, that would be great," I said with a hint of boredom in my voice.

"Well, then I'm out! Have a nice evening ladies." Ryan turned and closed the door behind him.

"Bella! You already made a new friend! How wonderful!" Alice chimed.

"Yeah, I guess so, I'm surprised myself. He's not a bad guy."

"So, now time for decorating this room, the white walls are killing me!" Alice grabbed one of the trunks and opened it. I saw a lot of pink in it and groaned.

"Oh come on Bella, it'll be fun. I can't do this without your opinion, since you do live here too. Oh, wait, on second thought maybe later, Jasper is coming to take me hunting."

"Jasper is here? Since when?" I wondered how long he would be here before he went back to Egypt with Emmett, Rosalie, Carlisle, and Esme.

"Well, Jasper is kind of going to this school now too. He didn't want to leave me here without him all year long. He's a couple stories above us."

"So, why didn't you two get an apartment together then?"

"Well, I didn't want to leave you by yourself Bella, who knows what kind of trouble you'll get yourself in, or how many trips you take to the hospital this year. Besides, did you really want to go through the awkward stage with a complete stranger as a roommate?"

I thought about that for a minute, and replied "No, and you're right. I wouldn't be here if it weren't for you Alice."

"Well, good. Glad we've come to an agreement." There was another knock on the door then, and I guessed it was Jasper.

"Where are you going hunting, anyway?" I asked curiously. "We're in the middle of a city!"

"Well, we're just going out into the countryside and hunting small animals I guess, just something to hold us over until weekends." Alice opened the door and pulled Jasper into a hug.

They embraced for a long time until finally Jasper said "Oh, hello Bella! Enjoying yourself?"

"Eh, it's okay I guess" I replied, still sounding bored.

"Well, Alice, we better go." Jasper said.

"Right, honey! Let's go!" She faced toward me and said "Bella, if you want a place to eat, there's a to-go pizza place down the street, you might like it."

"Okay, I might try it. I'll start decorating I guess if it will make you happy."

"Yay!" Alice hopped up and down clapping her hands. "We will be back late tonight. See ya Bella!" They closed the door and I was alone. I laid down on my bed sighing.

Suddenly I realized I had not opened Jacob's gift yet. I ran to the desk where the bag and the card were placed. I took out the tissue and opened the card first. The card read "To My Dearest Friend" and on the inside it read:

Bella,

I am so happy we spent so much time together this year, it has made me such a great person. I am honored that I can have a person so beautiful and wonderful as you as my friend. I hope one day our friendship can be something more, but I will always be here waiting for you with open arms. Please come visit me soon, La Push will be waiting for some excitement!

Love you with all my heart,

Jacob Black

I fought back tears and pressed the card to my heart. It was so beautiful. How can I survive college without my dearest friend Jacob? It was hard enough with out…Edward… (I managed to choke when I thought his name), now I do not have either of them in my life. I will have to visit Jacob as often as I can. I reached into the bag and pulled out a picture frame with a picture of Jacob and myself. We were standing on the beach in La Push, the same day Jacob told me he was a werewolf. Sometimes I forgot he was a werewolf, but I did not care what he was anyway. I read the side of the picture frame and it said Best Friends Forever. I was so excited I put it on my desk next to my new laptop. Now I would always be reminded of my Jacob.


	3. Unexpected

**Chapter Three. It takes a long time to build things up, I'll get to the good stuff soon, don't worry. Chapters will get longer too.**

I had fallen asleep on my bed before Alice and Jasper got back from their hunting trip. I was still in my clothes and I had Jacob's card in my hand. My head floated into unconsciousness and I began to dream. It was the day we first met. Jessica Stanley was telling me about the Cullen family and how they were all adopted. I remembered his cold eyes on me as I stared as his handsome body. I was then walking into Biology and the teacher assigning me the only available seat next to Edward. His hands gripped the edge of the table and his black eyes were on my face. I wished so desperately I could see him again. The dream continued. Next was on my birthday a year ago when Edward seemed so happy to be around me. He was begging me to be happy about having a birthday. His golden eyes locked with mine and I remember melting into an everlasting kiss. If only it had been everlasting.

"Bella! Bella!" Alice yelled at me. I was being shaken by her and suddenly I drifted back into the real world. I groaned. My hands were all wet though.

"Alice, why are my hands all wet?"

"Bella, I walked in the door for two minutes and all of a sudden you start sobbing! Humans are so confusing, they even cry in their sleep!" Alice was fuming at me. "So, are you going to tell me what your dream was about or do I have to pry it out of you myself?"

"It was the same one as three weeks ago. It was the same one as a week ago, it was the same one as last night!" I shouted at her.

"Oh, him again." Alice said looking sympathetic.

"Let's just forget this happened Alice, I'll try and go back to sleep."

"Well, look at your desk first, I think you're forgetting what day it is."

"Uh, it shouldn't be anything important, what time is it anyway?" I asked curiously.

"Well, after midnight, so that makes today…"

"Don't tell me it's the thirteenth, Alice, I don't care. Today does not exist in my books."

"It does in mine! Happy Birthday Bella!" Alice jumped over to my bed and handed me my present before I could even blink.

"Alice, you really shouldn't have, I didn't want anyone to celebrate my birthday, I don't even want to celebrate my birthday. I'm nineteen now, I hate this!"

"Just open it Bella, please?"

I slowly took the present out of her hands and was careful to undo the wrapping, after last year's fiasco I always unwrap presents carefully. It was a little box, it almost looked like a jewelry box. I lifted the lid and saw a beautiful necklace. It was very simple, and the pendant was a letter B.

"Wow Alice," I said. "This is beautiful. I actually like this."

"Well, I thought you would. Here's something from Emmett and Rosalie."

There was another small box that Alice handed me. I lifted the lid on this one and there were pear earrings. They too, were beautiful. Maybe birthdays were not so bad after all.

"Thanks Alice, you and your family. I will wear these in the morning when I get dressed. Say, can I use your phone real fast, I'm going to call your family so I know they're all awake."

"Sure Bella, go ahead."

"Thanks, I think I just want to call Carlisle and Esme and talk to them for a little bit. Alice handed me the phone and I dialed Carlisle's number.

"Hello?" A familiar male voice answered.

"Carlisle!" I said enthusiastically.

"Bella? Hi, Bella! How are you doing today?"

"Well, not bad, am I bothering you?"

"No, not at all, what's on your mind?"

"Well, I just wanted to check in, I haven't talked with you or Esme in such a long time. I feel so disconnected and I also wanted to ask you to pass on a message to Emmett and Rosalie. Tell them I said thanks for the earrings!"

"Oh, that's right, it's just past midnight Pacific Time, Happy Birthday Bella!"

"Thanks Carlisle. It means a lot. I also have something else to ask you, if you don't mind."

"Sure, Bella, anything!"

"Okay, here goes." I gulped very loudly. I could hear Carlisle chuckle. "Have you heard from…Edward… at all lately?"

"Well, No Bella," Carlisle said in a stern voice, with a tone of melancholy. "Why do you want to know?"

"Carlisle, I'm really worried about him. He's been gone almost a full year now, and I know I haven't been over him yet. It's just hard, and I don't know I kind of hoped he was with you and that I could hear his voice. If Alice hadn't come back to Forks at graduation last year, I wouldn't be attending college. Your family means so much to me and I just had to call and hear your voice again too--"

"Bella, calm down. We do care about you. Edward was doing what he thought best, and the rest of us think he's crazy. You changed him in such a big way I can't see him being happy with anyone else. Truth is, I've heard from him once in the past year. Alice doesn't see visions of him anymore; she's seen probably two visions of Edward all year. We will always care for you, Edward too, but he just needs time. I will keep you updated if I hear anything else."

"Thanks Carlisle, I guess I was just getting my hopes up a little too high. Anyway, how's Egypt?"

"Oh it's completely fascinating Bella, you would love it."

"How do you cope with the sun?"

"Well, we're in a remote area, doing some archaeology. So the sun doesn't really bother us, and no one can see us out here."

"That's fascinating. You should take some pictures and send them to me, I'm going to buy a couple more picture frames and--" I yawned "and put pictures of my family in them."

"Bella, sounds like you're tired. You should rest, it's almost one in the morning Pacific Time. I will certainly keep you updated, and feel free to call whenever you like. Happy Birthday again Bella, I hope your day goes well."

"Thanks Carlisle, tell everyone hello for me. Nice talking to you!"

"And you as well Bella. Bye!"

"Bye Carlisle." The phone line went dead. I gave the phone back to Alice and laid back down onto my bed.

"Get some sleep Bella," Alice said. "You need your energy for orientation in the morning."

"Okay, Night Alice." I drifted back into unconsciousness and slept peacefully. That is, until I felt something cold on my face. I jolted up and said "Alice? Alice? Alice?" No answer. "Alice?" I sat up all the way and looked around the room. There was no sign of Alice. I was so confused. Maybe I was dreaming. But I did not remember dreaming. I ran out into the hallway and did not see anyone. Had someone broken into my room? I ran into the bathroom and looked at myself. I looked fine, maybe I was getting sick though. I decided I was hallucinating and went back to my room. Alice still was not there. It had felt like a hand on my face, like a vampire hand. I looked at the clock, and it said 5:30 AM on it. I shrugged and went back to sleep for the rest of the night.


	4. Classes

**Okay, here's chapter four for you all! Hope you enjoy it. Sorry it took a long time, my computer has been dying and I've been writing on a laptop. Though I didn't have the first half of the story so I had a few problems. I'm still figuring out where to draw chapter lines so bear with me here! I have some interesting plans for the rest of the story. Again, sorry if there's grammar errors, I'm not perfect and I never will be either. I DO NOT OWN TWILIGHT CHARACTERS, I JUST MAKE UP STORIES ABOUT THEM. :D **

I woke up at 8:00 that morning. Alice was on her laptop with her iPod plugged into her ears. I stretched and tried to recall what happened last night, or rather, this morning.

"Alice, I'm awake!"

"Ah, Bella! Happy Birthday, again!" Alice seemed excited.

"Thanks, I guess." I think I'm going to take a shower and then get some breakfast at the cafeteria. What time does orientation start?"

"It starts at 9:30, so hurry! If you want, I can make your breakfast."

"Sure, I would like that! Okay I'm going then." I hurried and took a shower. When I came back Alice had already fixed chocolate chip pancakes. They were the best pancakes I had. I wondered how someone who never ate real food could be such an excellent cook. We rushed down to the main hall and waited for a tour of the campus. I was wearing my necklace Alice gave me, and my pear earrings Emmett and Rosalie gave me. Ryan came and found me, and Alice immediately told him about my birthday.

"Well, looks like I owe you a birthday dinner, how about it Bella," Ryan said.

"Sure, I don't have anything else to do tonight I guess," I agreed. I turned to Alice because something just occurred to me.

"Alice, what are you subject are you majoring in, or are you an undergraduate too?"

Alice chuckled and replied "I'm majoring in music. I play cello so I want to get a degree and play professionally." I knew that was her cover story, but I still found it fascinating that she could play music. I thought Edward was the only musical one in the family. I fell into a trance thinking about the lullaby Edward composed for me when we first started dating. Before I knew it I started crying again. I sat next to him a number of times over at his house listening to play music. He was very fond of Debussy and played Clair De Lune almost every time I sat with him. I missed his piano playing deeply, sometimes it was the only way he could calm me down, especially after the James incident in Phoenix.

"Bella, not again!" Alice hissed at me. "Come on, pull yourself together, you're fine." Reluctantly I did and stopped my blubbering in time for the tour guide to show me around. Ryan walked with Alice and I the whole time. I kept trying to get him away so I could tell Alice about the cold hand on my face this morning. Finally after eternity the tour was over.

"Bella, can I pick you up around 8:00 tonight?" Ryan asked.

"Sure, I guess that's fine. You pick the restaurant because I don't know about any of them up here."

"Okay, see you then! Bye Bella! Bye Alice!" Ryan waved and left.

"Alice, we need to go back to our room and talk," I said anxiously.

"Sure thing Bella, whatever you say." We walked back to our room in silence, at a very quick pace. I struggled to keep up with Alice. When we reached our room I went and sat at the chair at my desk and motioned for Alice to sit close to me.

"Alice, did you touch my face at all last night?" I said with a tone of fear in my voice.

"No, Bella, what are you talking about?"

"Alice, I felt something weird on my face last night, it was a hand, and it was cold as ice. The hand was on my face for a whole two seconds until I woke up. It was the happiest two seconds of my life, this is going to sound crazy but I think it was Edward."

"Bella, you're talking crazy. Edward should be somewhere in Africa."

"Really? Am I talking crazy? Carlisle said you haven't seen a vision about Edward in a long time. Can you tap into his future and see where he is?"

"I can try, but he's been gone so long I'm not attuned to him anymore."

I left Alice alone for the next hour and a half while I started on homework. I could not believe I had homework and class had not started yet. Finally Alice spoke.

"I can't see into his future Bella. If he was anywhere near us then I would be able to tap into his future, so he must still be far away."

I sighed and said "okay, thanks for trying anyway." I could not help but feel sorrow and my heart ached. The hole was getting bigger, almost as though it was eating my heart.

The next day came uninterrupted by strange dreams or cold hands. My birthday was not as bad as I thought it would be, but I was now nineteen and I hated feeling so old. I woke up at 7:30 and got ready for class. Alice was already gone for orchestra class, so I was on my own. I looked at my schedule and it said I have English first. I packed my laptop, paper, pencils, and my other school supplies and headed out to class. I was one of the first ones to the class because I did not want to sit alone in my dorm room. I picked a seat in the middle of the lecture hall and turned on my laptop.

"Well hello there Bella" a familiar voice said.

"Oh, Ryan, hi." I was hoping I would not have a class with him. He was a nice guy, but he talked non-stop. He reminded me a lot of Mike Newton. We talked for a while, or rather he talked for a while and I sat there pretending I was listening. More people filed into the classroom as 8:00 approached.

The professor walked into the classroom and said "Good morning freshman! Welcome to English 100. Look around the room and take one minute to introduce yourself to any new faces. I guarantee you will not meet everyone." He was right, the class was huge! There were at least 250 people in the hall, and it was crowded. This was a big change from the little town of Forks. The class began and I tried not to notice Ryan's nervous stares at me. To keep myself occupied, I took notes and raised my hand whenever the professor asked a question. Normally I hated answering questions because it draws attention to myself, but I wanted everyone to stare a me so Ryan would not be the only one. The clock ticked slowly, and I found myself glancing at it every three minutes. The sooner I could get out of this class, the better.

After another hour went by, the class was finally over. I sprinted out of the lecture hall so Ryan could not catch up with me. I had an hour until my next class, so I walked to the cafeteria and ate lunch. I checked my watch and sighed, maybe Ryan will be in a different class, this university is huge after all. I walked to the art building and I could hear lovely music. I peeked into one of the practice rooms to find Alice, and three other people playing music in a quartet. She looked up and waved and before I knew it she was outside standing with me.

"So, how's you're first day going so far?!" she asked excitedly.

"Oh okay, Ryan is in my first class," I said with a hint of disgust in my voice. "He stared at me the whole time, and I found it a little scary. The professor seems nice though, and the class is huge!"

"Well, don't worry about Ryan, he won't give you any trouble. What did you think of the Bach quartet we were playing?"

"I didn't hear much, but you guys are wonderful artists. My next class is an art class up on the next level, I'm sure I'll be able to hear you. Speaking of which, I need to get up there and grab a seat before they're all taken." Alice waved and went back inside the room.

I walked up stairs two at a time and found my class. This was a much smaller class, only about fifty people. The professor introduced herself and began the class. She asked us to draw or paint anything today. I grabbed a big sheet of paper and a few pencils. It had been a long time since I last painted or drew anything. The last time was during the summer, before Edward left. I took one of the pencils in my hand and began drawing. I threw myself in my work, not stopping until it was perfect. The professor peered over my shoulder and said "Trés Magnific!" I looked up and realized she was talking to me.

"It's nothing, really!" I said, embarrassed about my work.

The professor spoke in rapid French. Then she said," This is an amazing drawing, did you come up with this image all on your own?"

"Actually," I choked trying to fight back tears. "It is a person I once knew. We were close, very close."

"I can see so much emotion behind this, and he is absolutely gorgeous! You are a wonderful artist. What is your name again?"

"Bella. Bella Swan. Thank you very much for appreciating my drawing. It has been a long time since I've drawn anything."

"Well Bella, you have some real talent. I look forward to working with you this semester! You have a real career on your hands, what are you majoring in currently?"

"I'm an undergraduate, I didn't pay attention on career day."

The professor laughed and said, "Well, you should consider being an artist, go and think about it and let me know by the next class period."

The clock on the wall chimed two in the afternoon. "Ah, my pupils! It is time to part. Until then keep your eyes on something interesting for your next project!"

I liked this art class. Sure, it was the basic art 100, but it was oddly thrilling. I cannot remember being so excited about school before. It felt so liberating to sit down and draw Edward; it was very easy once I got started. Though the details of his hair and nose structure are vague because it has been so long since I last saw him. While thinking about Edward, I delicately placed my project on the professor's desk. I was sure to be careful, treating my masterpiece like the Mona Lisa.

I walked out of the classroom and went back to my dorm room. Alice was there with a melancholy look on her face. I do not think I had seen her that way before.

"Alice?" I said trying to hide my curiosity and concern. "What's going on, you look like you've seen a ghost! Don't tell me they're enemies of yours too?" I immediately felt guilty thinking about Jacob and considering Alice might really be bothered by something.

"Bella, I had a vision…This is hard for me to say. It's about Edward; he's in pain." I looked at her with a confused expression on my face, and also with worry. I sat down on my bed and put my hands over my face to stifle tears.

"Is Edward in any danger?

"No, not that kind of pain," Alice replied back with a little bit of relief in her tone.

"Where is he? Is he near by? Does he know you're with me?" Questions had started pouring out of me and Alice held up a hand to silence me. I did not care if Edward was on the other side of the world, I would go to him.

"I can't see a place. The vision was him sitting against a white wall. His eyes looked black. He was curled up in a ball and I'm sure if he could cry, he would. "

"Alice, we need to find Edward. I can't live without him here. You know that. He must be hurting as much as I am."

"We'll try Bella. I want him back as much as you do. I'll keep trying to watch his future. It's so distant though, I'm really struggling. Maybe I'll call Carlisle a little later. For now I just need to go walk and try and clear my head."

It seemed odd for Alice to say she was going to clear her head. It seemed like she was always in constant motion. Vampires could also think several different things at once, to clear their heads would seem very close to impossible. I sighed and sobbed into my pillow. After a minute I picked up my head and looked toward the picture of Jacob and myself. My heart throbbed, feeling more empty than ever before.


	5. Phone Call

**This is a very short chapter, I realize that. Just read it. Hope you like, again. **

**POINT OF VIEW- ALICE**

I felt so bad for Bella. I needed her to be well without Edward. The plan failed miserably when I came back to Forks in June. I had no idea what condition Bella was in, and how her life would be altered upon my return. I knew Edward would be furious about my return when he read my thoughts. The whole point of the plan was for Bella to get used to life without vampires. I knew she was not doing well, and I really missed her. It was only a matter of time before she would do something dangerous. When I came back she cried in my shoulder for two hours thanking me for coming to see her, and also asking if Edward would be returning as well. She was in a worse state than I thought.

I sighed and looked at Bella, who finally drifted asleep after several consoling hours and calling my brother an idiot. Edward was right; she did talk a lot in her sleep. She rolled around on her little cot saying, "Edward! Edward! It's okay, I'm here! You don't have to be in any pain anymore!" I looked at my computer with a blank stare. I pondered whether I should tell everyone else in my family about the vision. I'll tell Jasper for sure, when the time is right. I guess everyone else has a right to know as well.

Suddenly an image flooded into my head. I floated into a trance and saw my cell phone ringing and the time it would ring on the clock. I came back into consciousness and looked at my clock. My phone was going to ring in five minutes. I took my phone and went into the hall so I would not wake Bella. It was hard enough convincing her to go to sleep. Right on cue my phone rang.

"Hello?" I said, trying not to put any worry into my voice.

"Alice. What the hell are you doing in Seattle? You are supposed to be in Egypt with everyone else. Have you no respect for my wishes, and Bella's best interests at all?" He was fuming, but trying to keep a relaxed tone. I knew he was furious with me.

"Nice to hear from you too Edward," I spat harshly.

"Alice, don't be smart with me, do you realize how much pain you are putting Bella through by staying with her?"

"The real question, is do YOU realize how much pain you're causing her? Maybe the better one is how much pain are you putting yourself through?" She was in such a terrible state when I decided to come back. Bella is really suffering Edward! She screams your name and wishes you would come stay with her. Don't you understand she loves you? Her last memory of you is saying that you didn't want her, how do you expect anyone to recover from that." Then I hissed at him and said, "You have no idea how much grief you have pushed on our entire family! We are worried about you and you can't even take five minutes out of your day to even call anyone?" I was trying so hard not to be shrill and yell at him, after all, we are family.

"Alice, I'm doing what I think is best. It wouldn't kill you to do the same." His tone was calmer now, but the same tenseness was still present.

"Well, I am doing what I think is best Edward! If you want Bella to adjust to normal life then she needs help. You didn't leave her with the most human people you know. All the Quilette boys have become…" I spat the next word at him: "Werewolves. That Jacob Black kid you wanted Bella to be with is one too."

"Oh. I didn't realize--"

"Oh? Edward, I haven't talked to you in months, where are you, what have you been doing?"

"Alice, I'm afraid I can't answer those questions right now. I will be back with the family as soon as I can. But I can't see you when you're so close to Bella. Trust be Alice, it's not right that you're in her life."

"Edward, I have a plan worked out, even though I wish she could be my real sister and that she could have a happy ever after with you, I have pushed her to make new friends. I had a vision just this afternoon that she would be going on a date."

"Good, that's progress I guess. Get out of that situation as soon as you can though Alice. It's not safe."

"I can't promise you that Edward. I love her like I love you. I think you should just accept that. Admit it, you're still crazy about her too."

"Yes, Alice. I am indeed still passionately in love with Bella. Each day is harder and harder, but I am doing what is right. I need to go now. I love you Alice, if you call Carlisle and Esme anytime soon, tell them I said hello."

Then the line went dead. I was so disgusted I slammed my phone shut. I walked back into the room and placed my head on the table. Sometimes I wished I could sleep so I wouldn't have to figure out what to do with all my free time. I cannot even get into the music building and sooth my feelings with music. I jammed my MP3 ear buds into my ears and tried to mimic the effect playing music has on me. I thought for a while about what I should do. My options were either telling Bella about the phone call and letting her cry for another whole day, or pretend to be puzzled until I could find a solution. I decided the latter would be appropriate for now. Just until I could get Bella to forget about everything and continue on my original plan.


	6. Gone

**This is another shorter chapter I guess. I'll try and make 'em longer. Next chapter will be up probably tomorrow if my computer is nice. I've written a ton more and I have a lot of the story done.**

**BELLA POV**

The next week went by very slowly after Alice's vision. My classes were okay, though my favorite was art. The professor for art class (whose name I found out to be Ms. Shipwright) loved my drawings of Edward. Every time I went into her class she asked me to paint or draw Edward. I never tired of it, I enjoyed it very much.

In English class one day, I had a startling meeting with Ryan. I sat down in my usual spot, and so did he, it looked like it would be another stare-fest for him.

"Bella, do you think you want to go to dinner and a movie with me? I promise, it won't be awkward at all, just us hanging out on a Friday night. What do you say?"

My eyes were stunned with horror. What do I do? I did not want to hurt Ryan's feelings, because he was one of the few friends I had at school. Maybe going and doing something would be good for me. "Er. Okay Ryan, I guess," I managed to choke out.

"Great Bella! Pick you up Friday at five!" The class went so slowly. When it finally ended I ran back to my dorm room and looked at the calendar. Today was Thursday.

Alice followed in shortly after and said, "Oooh, Bella has a little date! What are you going to wear? What movie are you going to see?"

Of course, leave it to Alice to be concerned about what I would be wearing. "Alice, it's just hanging out between friends. I guess you can dress me since all I brought were casual clothes. But nothing too fancy, you know how much I hate fancy clothes."

"Okay, deal. This is exciting Bella!"

Friday flew by a lot faster than I expected. I was not dreading my so-called-date as much as I thought I would. At four thirty I went to my dorm room and got dressed in a nice pair of jeans and a nice shirt. I combed my hair and made myself look presentable. At exactly five Ryan knocked on my door.

"Hey Bella, you look very nice," Ryan said slyly.

"Thanks Ryan, not so bad yourself," I replied in a monotone style of voice. "Shall we get going?"

"Yeah, hope you don't mind seeing an action movie, there is suppose to be a really good one out and I'm just dying to see it."

Ryan was such a typical jock sometimes. This was one of them. I followed him out the door and walked downtown with him. The movie was somewhat interesting, though Ryan spent most of the time staring at me. Dinner was fairly awkward too, he took me to an Italian restaurant. Rather than look like a fool staining spaghetti sauce all over my white shirt, I ordered a harmless salad and water. After dinner and dessert we wandered around the city before heading back to my dorm. The city was very beautiful at night; I always loved the lights as they sparkled like stars. It reminded me of when Edward and I used to go stargazing on my front lawn. We walked for about an hour and then Ryan led me back to my dorm. He said good night when I was at my door. I tried opening the doorknob but before I could he bent down and kissed me. It was not a good kind of kiss either, he slobbered all over me! I took my hand off the knob and tried to push him off of me.

"Sorry there Bella. I guess you're the type that likes to move slowly. I'll behave next time."

"Er. That's fine. Night." I knew there wouldn't be a next time. When I was safely in my room I whipped off the slobber from my mouth and said, "Ew, that was the most disgusting thing ever!"

"Have fun Bella?" Jasper was snickering at me. "Boy that guy seemed ecstatic, I was trying to control his mood for you but I just couldn't. How tall is he anyway?"

"Close to six foot I guess. That isn't funny either, quit laughing at me!"

"Jasper, that's enough," Alice finally intervened. "Other than that disgusting kiss, did you have a good time?"

"I guess, he seemed to talk the whole time. Dinner was really awkward, and I don't think I want to go out with him ever again." I plopped down over at my bed and sighed. It wasn't the same as Edward. Ryan's kiss had no effect on me, it was more revolting than pleasurable. My heart seemed to die, not skip beats like it did when I kissed Edward. Suddenly I started crying, sobbing really.

"Jasper, do something!" Alice was nudging him in the ribs.

"I can't, her emotions are too strong right now, when she's at extremes it's often very hard to control."

Alice looked very disturbed when I finally could see her through my tears. My eyes felt swollen from crying so much throughout the week.

"I just don't know what to do Bella, I've never been so lost in my life. Part of me wants to go search for Edward, but the other part wants me to stay here with you. I can't stand it to see you even more torn with me gone. Rest assure, we will figure this out even if it takes all year.

I fell into a daily routine pretty quickly. Three months had gone by since my date with Ryan. We did not go out again after that because football season started and occupied his time. I was very thankful for sports, which was the first and last time I would ever think that.

One Friday night I decided I needed change. Alice and Jasper went to Egypt for the week to talk to Carlisle, Esme, Rosalie, and Emmett about Edward. The family was going to split up and look for him, while Alice and Jasper stayed here and looked after me. I walked by a store with motorcycles. I thought about Jacob and the motorcycles we attempted to build. Before I realized it I walked into the store and was talking to the manager.

"So, if I rent one of these for a couple of hours I could return it tonight and not be charged for a full day?"

"Yes ma'am, that's correct," said the clerk. "What kind do you want?"

I pointed to one I thought looked suitable and said "this one looks fine." It was not very big but I was not looking for speed. I wheeled it out of the shop, and put on my helmet. It had been so long since I had driven anything, but I think I remembered Jacob talking me through riding a bike while we were working on them in the shop. I turned on the engine and it roared to life. I liked that sound. I revved the engine with the right gear and instantly everything Jacob talked about made sense. Within moments I was zooming on the streets of downtown Seattle. The wind blew my hair that was outside of my helmet and I felt a wicked smile come across my face. I did not know where anything was in Seattle, however I did not care. I drove the motorcycle for about half an hour until my stomach grumbled. I remembered I had not eaten anything for dinner, so I reduced my speed and tried to look for a place to eat. I was near a dark alley and the part of town I was in looked like a dump. To my relief, there was a pizza parlor at the end of the street.

I carefully parked the motorcycle and went into the store. Instantly the smell of burnt cheese drifted into my nose. My stomach growled at me and I realized that I needed food fast. I decided to order pepperoni pizza and I sat down and ate my slice. There were only a couple people in the store. I glanced at my watch and noticed it was nine o'clock. When I was finished I went back outside and looked around for a minute. Homeless people were wandering around and immediately I became scared. I walked back up the street to where my motorcycle was parked. I sat on it, pushed the key into the ignition and tried turning it on. The engine did not roar to life like it had previously. I wondered what was going on, and adrenaline pumped through my veins.

"Having some trouble missy?" A strange voice was coming toward me. He looked like a middle aged man that had not showered in weeks.

"No, sir, I'm fine. It just takes a few tries to get it going. I should be fine."

"Are you sure about that? I can come help you if that's what you need." I was really scared now; the man was standing right next to me.

"Oh, I'm fine. See, watch this." I tried the motorcycle again, but it did not start.

"Looks like your battery is dead. This must be my lucky day." Before I could figure out what that meant I hopped to my feet and started running. Unfortunately I was out of shape and the man caught up to me. He grabbed my waist and started hauling me in the other direction. I screamed as loud as I could, there was no one around who could hear me. The man put one hand over my mouth and the other was still fastened around my waist. I tried kicking and breaking away, but the man was so strong he chuckled at my attempts. Finally I gave up and let him take me to my destiny.


	7. Realization

**I don't know what it is with the short chapters... ahhh! I wrote this chapter a long time ago, so maybe that's why. I'm writing new content which is probably three chapters down the road, I'm just spacing out publishing and maybe adding more to future chapters and I'll have longer chapters. Anyway, last chapter for the day. Marching band practice takes a lot out of me so my writing suffers a bit. I try and proof read before publishing but it's no where near perfect. Enjoy!**

ALICE POV

It was past midnight when I had the vision. Bella was in trouble, and I wondered why I did not see it earlier. I paced back and forth biting my knuckle while Jasper sat on a chair with his hands over my face. What to do, what to do?! I should not have let Bella wander alone, but when I came back to my dorm room after afternoon orchestra rehearsal, the only thing that was there was a note:

_Alice__,_

_I've just gone out for a while. I need a change o f routine. I should be back in a while, but I don't know where I am doing or where I am going. Don't wait up for me, oh wait…you kind of have to. Well don't worry about me, I'll be fine. Hope you and Jasper have a fun evening, maybe some alone time will do you some good!_

_Bella_

I read the note a thousand times. I tried searching for Bella's future but the image of her being kidnapped raided my thoughts. Why would she do something as stupid as renting a motorcycle and driving around when she did not know the city? Why did someone have to take her?!

"Jasper," I said, hoping to find some encouragement. "Should I tell Edward about this? Maybe he'll come back and help find her. If he really loves her like I know he does, he would help."

"It's not a bad idea, but with how Edward has been acting lately, I just don't know what to expect. I think we should keep it hushed for the time being, and then if we don't have any luck finding her, then we can tell him. I don't think he's reading our thoughts, if he was we would know by now."

"You're right Jazz, thanks. I don't know how I could make these kinds of decisions myself. Maybe we should call Carlisle and Esme though, they might come help us." Jasper already had the phone out and dialed their number.

"Hello?"

"Carlisle! Hi, it's Jasper. We've got a bit of a situation on our hands right now, I hope this isn't a bad time for me to call you."

"Jasper, nice to hear from you. Of course it's not a bad time, I always have time for my children. What seems to be the problem?"

"It's about Bella."

"She isn't improving, is she?"

"Well, Carlisle…it's not that. Well, she isn't improving I guess. The thing is Bella went out downtown Seattle tonight by herself, and Alice had a vision that she was kidnapped about two hours ago."

"Bella was kidnapped?!"

"Yes, Carlisle. We don't know where she is and we don't know where to find her. Alice had her vision after the matter happened, and she can't search for Bella's future. We thought we'd call you because we need some advice what to do."

"Well, Jasper there isn't really a correct answer for this. I don't think telling Edward would be the best idea, or Bella's werewolf friend, Jacob. Just have Alice keep searching if she can, I think Esme and myself will return back to Forks and see if we can be of any help. Jasper, do your best to consol Alice, keep her calm. I don't think she can get clear visions if she's too stressed. Esme will call you as soon as we land in Seattle and we'll go from there. Talk to you in a while.

"Thanks Carlisle. Your thoughts are much appreciated."

"No problem. We all know what Bella means to us, so we will do our best to help. Bye Jasper, tell Alice we love her."

"Okay, bye Carlisle." The line then went dead. I was still pacing the room wondering what my first plan of action would be.

POV- Bella

When I woke up I was in a strange vehicle. It looked like a 1960's Volkswagen van. I sat up and remembered how much my head hurt, apparently someone socked me pretty hard and drove me unconscious. There were two men in the car, one was my kidnapper, the other was a very obese man who was driving the car.

"Boss, the girl is awake," the driver said.

"Ah, perfect." My kidnapper then turned to me and said, "Hello sunshine, how are we doing this morning?"

I glared at him and said nothing.

"Ah, guess you're not in the mood to talk. That's okay, I understand. I'll do the talking right now and you do the listening. My name is Frank. And this here is Al." He pointed to the obese driver who waved into the rearview mirror. "In a few minutes we're going to ask you to hide under that blanket over there, don't ask any questions, just do what I tell you to do. That's rule number one: do what I tell you to do, and you won't be hurt. Rule number two: you can't tell anyone who you are. Rule number three: don't ask questions. I think that about covers it." He turned around to face the front and I looked out the window. It was bright outside but I couldn't tell where we were.

"Well, I guess I don't really have a choice then, do I?" I spat at Frank. "Though, can I ask where we are, I think I at least have a right to know that."

"I guess I could side with you on that one. We're in California, near the Mexico border. You've been out cold for two days and we've been driving most of the time. We'll let you know when we get to our destination."

MEXICO?! This cannot be happening to me. I shook my head to try and understand but more questions flooded inside of me.

"Okay, princess," Al said this time. "It's time for the blanket. Get underneath it and don't say anything. It's your neck if you do."

I obediently laid down and put the blanket over my head. I just kept breathing. I guess I fell into another coma-like sleep because later I woke up and it was dark outside. This time I heard a female voice speak.

"Excellent Frank, Al. No one can stop me now! Though I would love to get her little boyfriend too, because he was the one that actually killed James."

My muscles froze as I remembered that voice. It was Victoria, James's ex-lover. I tried to keep the tears in as long as I could, but eventually they flooded out and covered the blanket. I wished the Cullen's or Jacob would come to my rescue. This is unbearable, and I knew I would not survive this trip.

"We are happy you are pleased mistress Victoria," Frank replied. "Will you change us into vampires now like you promised?"

"Hush, Frank. The time is not right yet. I will not change you until the girl no longer exists. I think we'll wait about a week until I finally finish her off to see if anyone will try and come to her aid. If so, I will be ready with my army." She laughed evilly, and it sent shivers up my spine. I was doomed, but I had about a week to live. I have a little hope left, maybe someone can help me.


	8. Reunited

**Yup, another chapter here for you all, I'm still posting what I've had written for a while so that's why it's coming so fast. I'm making up for lost time, there.**

POV—EDWARD

Being apart from Bella all these months has been killing me. I wish I was dead because I do not think the pain would be as much. I had done so well over the past year staying away from her, though not a second went by that I was reminded of her, or thought about her. My heart is empty, nothing is important to me without Bella to share it with. I told Alice that I would not see her as long as she was with Bella, but I think I am going to break all the promises I made within the last year. I need to see Bella. I need my heart back.

_But she needs to adjust to human life. She cannot wait around for me, when all that would come out of it would be me hurting her. I could not deal with the amount of guilt if I harmed her. She needs to form her own life, and find her own love._

However, she did find her own love. She chose me when she could have chosen Mike Newton or any of the other worthless boys at Forks High School. Alice said her date with some Ryan kid went very poorly, and after that I knew Bella would not be content until I decided to come back. I sat against the white wall and curled up into a ball. I am going back.

I went to the airport and ordered a plane ticket to Seattle. I imagined the look on Bella's face when I walked into her dorm room and scooped her up into my arms. I hope she will take me back. That lie I told her a year ago burned farther into her soul than I imagined. I do still care about her, I do want her.

_She should not take you back Edward, she deserves much better than you. She threw her heart and soul at you and all you did was tell her you did not want her? Bella does not deserve a jerk like you._

No, I have to go. I hopped on the plane eager to be in the same state, let alone country as Bella. Canada was a nice place, but nothing could be excellent without Bella. After what seemed like hours I finally landed in Seattle. I could hear thoughts of people wanting coffee, and I knew I was in Washington. I headed through customs with a spring in my step. I rented a car and drove lightning speed to the University of Washington. Alice's thoughts were still vague to me because I am not attuned to her anymore. I can fix that with a little practice. I parked the car and went along with my instinct to the dorm I assumed was Bella's. I could hear Alice's thoughts more clearly now and followed them to her room. Jasper must have been inside too because he was thinking about taking Alice on a walk. Alice was thinking about skipping class tomorrow afternoon to go hunting.

I knocked on the door and waited for a response. Alice opened it the next instant with a big smile on her face. It vanished once she saw it was me.

"Hello Alice!" I said with excitement in my voice. "I missed you so much, and you still look as lovely as always. How are you doing?"

"Edward?" She asked. "What are you doing here, why did you come?"

"Alice, you were right. I miss my Bella so much. If she doesn't want a normal human life then that's her wish. I just can't live without her. I hope she feels the same way and will take me back. If not, then that's her choice. Now, is my Bella here? Don't tell me you're going to leave your brother that you haven't seen in a year standing out on the doorstep."

Alice moved hesitantly and let me into their room. She sighed and said, "Bella isn't here."

"When is she coming back? She must be in a class or eating. I am so excited I feel like running to her and disrupting whatever she's doing. Oh, Jasper! I forgot you were in here too, nice to see you too!"

"Nice to see you Edward," He said. He looked guilty about something.

"Edward, do you want to go take a walk for a while, I mean I've been cooped up in my room all day today and I just want to stretch my legs," Alice said nervously. She was hiding something, I could feel it.

"Alice, what's going on, where's Bella? Why are you trying so hard to get rid of me?"

"Edward, Bella isn't here and she won't be coming back. She went out a couple nights ago by herself. I was in class when she did this and she left a note saying she wanted a change. She never came back. Had I seen it coming I would've stopped it. Though that sonata my quartet played the other day was just so lovely."

"Well, do you know where she went? I didn't think she would hate college this much, I feel really bad now."

"No, Edward, you don't understand. She isn't coming back not by her own choosing, but because she was kidnapped."

I felt my eyes turn black. "Kidnapped?" I could not believe what I was hearing. I went and sat down in a chair and ran my fingers through my hair. "Bella was kidnapped and you couldn't even think about calling me?" I said trying not to yell.

"Edward," Alice said. "We didn't know how to tell you. Carlisle told us not to tell you until they figured out a plan. They only got back yesterday. They're staying at our house in Forks for now. We think we're going to go looking for her, but I haven't seen any visions of where Bella is. It's because I've been away for so long that it takes that same amount of time to become attuned again."

I sighed and wandered over to where I thought Bella's bed was. I sat down and sniffed her pillow. It smelled so good, I missed this scent. Finally I said, "Well, going and looking for her would be a good plan. Perhaps we can track her scent. We can bring one of her clothing items with us to remind us of the smell."

"Yes, that was my plan, even though I can keep a smell for a long time, it would be even better if we brought something of Bella's along with us," Jasper said. "We will find her Edward, and she'll be okay."

"I should have never left Bella. I wish I could have been there for everything that I missed; Christmas, New Year's, Valentines Day, her graduation, all of it I should've been there with her. This may have been the worst mistake I've ever made. All I wanted is what's best for her, but it's clear now that it ended badly anyway."

"Edward," Alice walked over and placed her hand on my shoulder. "It's not your fault, you didn't know how this was going to end. You can't keep blaming yourself for everything. Now, we're going to try everything we can to get Bella back. Carlisle and Esme will be arriving in about five minutes."

"Okay, I will try Alice. More than anything I wish I could have her in my arms and to be safe from everything. Alice I owe you a tremendous apology, like I said earlier, you were right about coming back. It's evident that Bella needs more protection, rather than all of us disappearing from her life. Can you please fill me in on everything I missed?"

"Can I show you? I've been documenting everything with my camera. I knew one day you would want to know what you missed." She danced over to her computer and opened up a file that said 'Bella Slideshow.' It started when she came back in March. The first picture was St. Patrick's Day. Bella was smiling wearing all green, with streaks of green in her hair. She had shamrocks painted on her delicate face. I chuckled because though she looked silly, though still breathtakingly beautiful. The next few pictures were of her and Alice together. The slideshow was set to music, happy music. Even though Bella looked like she was smiling in all the pictures, I guessed Alice told her to smile. I could sense in her eyes she was miserable. The next round of pictures that really caught my attention were the graduation photos. She looked so beautiful in her gown. She was holding her diploma and standing next to Charlie. Again, she looked miserable when I looked at her eyes. There were many pictures of the Graduation All Night Party, and Bella looked like she was trying to have fun. The rest of the pictures were summer pictures, it looked like Alice and Bella went to the beach many times. The most recent ones were of Bella's empty room and a last picture of Bella standing with Charlie. Then a picture came up with Bella and Alice standing in the doorway of their dorm room. This was the first picture I saw where Bella was not smiling. She truly looked like she was in pain.

"That's the last picture," Alice finally said. The music ended soon after.

"Brilliant Alice, this is very nice. I wish I could have been there. The pictures are wonderful, but it isn't the same as being there. Plus, the pain behind her eyes wouldn't be there if I was around. I feel like I could kick myself hard for what I did. Alice I owe you so much for coming back."

Then I heard a knock. I already knew who it was, and so did Alice. She had a somewhat relieved expression on her face. She raced to the door and opened it. There was Carlisle and Esme. I got up from the chair I was sitting in and walked over to my parents. Immediately Esme wrapped me in the biggest hug.

"Don't you ever do that to me again," she hissed in my ear.

"I'm so sorry Esme, I don't know what I was thinking," I replied back ashamed of myself. I turned to Carlisle. "It's so wonderful to see you again too. Thank you for helping us find Bella. I'm also so very sorry I didn't call more often, it was very idiotic on my part. I do hope you both find it in your hearts to forgive me."

"Of course," both Carlisle and Esme replied at the same time. Then Esme said, "Alice, did you call Edward and tell him about this?"

"No, Edward had no idea until he came here," Alice said plainly.

"Well, we have some major work to do here," Carlisle said clapping his hands together and sitting down on one of the chairs. "Edward, can you fetch an article of clothing from Bella's closet?"

"I'm right on it Carlisle." I had some faith that we would be able to find Bella after all.


	9. Plans

** Another short chapter. The one I just wrote that will be a couple down the road is long, I assure you. Anyway I'm cranking this stuff out and getting some ideas. I've actually had dreams about this, weird!! Thanks for your support, it's nice coming home to a bunch of emails in my inbox saying people are subscribing to the story!! It encourages me to keep writing, so if more people subscribe the more I'll write! Also, reviews are nice too. Thanks! **

**BELLA POV**

I finally woke up from my nightmare. I looked around the van and realized I was living my nightmare. Victoria was going to kill me and I had less than a week to live. Our location was still a mystery, though I knew we were in Mexico somewhere. I sat up and looked outside the window. It was bright outside still. I wondered what day it was, and how long I had been asleep. Carefully I got up onto my feet and wobbled around the van. It had been a couple days since I had last walked around and stretched my legs. In the rear view mirror I saw my reflection. I looked awful, and I really needed a shower. A purple bruise was present around my left eye. I examined the rest of my body to see that I had a few bruises, but was okay. Then I turned around and walked to the door. I slid it open to find it was blazing hot outside. It reminded me of Phoenix.

"What are you doing outside of the van?" Al asked me.

"I didn't know I was suppose to stay inside of it, that wasn't one of the rules," I retorted back. Just because I had to follow all the rules did not mean I had to be polite to anyone. "Got any food around here, or is the idea to starve the victim?"

"There's food over there, I suppose we should've fed you sooner."

"Out of curiosity, how long have I been asleep?"

"Just a day. Did you know you scream in your sleep?"

"Yes, but that's only when I'm kidnapped and am scared to death." I could not help but be snotty and sarcastic to my kidnappers, even though I screamed in my sleep frequently.

"Sorry, just curious," Al sounded sincere and sympathetic. If he didn't help kidnap me, I would actually feel sorry for him.

I walked over to where he pointed and found some food. It was a burger and French fries. Though it is rare for me to eat fast food, I was so hungry it seemed like a feast. Al noticed how quickly I ate the food and looked at me in amazement.

"Are you still hungry?" He seemed concerned.

"Yes, sir, I am."

"Don't call me sir, my name is Al. He grabbed more food and thrust it into my hand. "I'm going to cut to the chase right now. I wasn't for kidnapping you. It was Frank's idea. After he met Victoria all he could think about was her and becoming a--vampire." He shuddered and looked back at me. "Frank is the only real friend I have. We met in high school and have worked together ever since. All I know is to follow Frank's control. Whenever he stole something from the store, I did too. He's like a brother to me and helped me when I was kicked out of my house. Though becoming a vampire scares the hell out of me, but if Frank does it, I will too. What I don't understand is why we kidnapped you. I don't ever get to hear any of our plans, so what do you have to do with all of this?"

"Well, it's kind of a long story. But I'll shorten it up a bit in case Frank or Victoria come back and find me around. About a year and a half ago I moved to Forks from Phoenix. At my new school I was attracted to a guy who was so breathtakingly gorgeous, I couldn't help but fall in love. He felt the same way about me. Come to find out, he is a vampire. Toward the end of the year we met up with three other vampires. They weren't vegetarian vampires like Edward's family. One of the vampires almost killed me, if it hadn't been for Edward. I spent the best six months of my life with him until about a year ago he decided he couldn't be with me anymore because he wanted me to live a normal human life. He was always afraid of hurting me since I am a human. It was so hard for me to adjust to normal life. One of the companions of Victoria and the vampire that tried to kill me came back to have his revenge. However a pack of werewolves killed him. When I thought I was about to lose it, Edward's sister came back to live with me. She is one of my best friends and is my roommate at University of Washington. I guess Victoria wants revenge like the other vampire. Though Victoria always scared me more than any of the other non-vegetarian vampires."

"Wow, that's some story. Werewolves? Wow now everything in this world has been flipped upside-down."

"Yes, werewolves. They are the natural enemy to the vampire, though very few of them exist."

"Wow, I really feel for you. What a mess. Is it a hassle to put up with them? What about the myths, can they go out in the sun and do they sleep in coffins?"

"It was all worth it at the time. I really love Edward, I can't live without him. Live after he's gone isn't worth living. As for the myths, I've found most of them aren't true. Vampires don't even sleep, and as for the sun, they don't go out because it makes their skin...glow."

"I wish I could've found someone to love. Now look at me, I'm hideous. I can't control my weight, I go days at a time without showering, and I'm always on the run from the police."

"You know, you could make a clean break. There are other alternatives to robbery and kidnapping. I know Frank is your only friend, but try and go to work somewhere. Your destiny isn't always set in stone."

"The words you say make sense. I have always loved literature, and my dream was to become an English professor. Shakespeare has always been my favorite, and I do miss reading some of his works. Frank always made fun of my intellect and convinced me to give up my hobbies. Now he makes it seem like I'm the stupid one. Maybe I'll start small and graduate from high school first to show him I am smart. Say, you're very wise for your age, what is your name?"

"I'm Bella. Bella Swan. Do you think you can do me a favor?"

"Sure, I'll try."

"You seem like a nice person. How about we help each other out and both benefit out of this situation. How about you help me get out of here, and I help you get enrolled into a night high school program. That way you can work during the day and start your life over."

"Miss Bella, again you are very wise. I don't know how I can help you escape though because Victoria and Frank would know where to find me."

"Al, I have a few tricks up my sleeve. You will have to keep your ears open though and listen for the day when Victoria decides to kill me." I lowered my voice into a whisper remembering Frank or Victoria could be wandering around anywhere and said, "You say that you're going to take me out to eat to fatten me up, then while we're at some restaurant I go to the bathroom and you keep Frank and Victoria distracted. I make a break for it somehow and you decide to come check on me. Once Frank and Victoria realize I'm gone you take the van and come find me and we run away back into the United States."

"Well, it's worth a try. It's a deal. I am so tired of working with these animals. It's time for me to be the real Albert Smith and take charge of my own life."

I stuck out my hand and shook his hand. I could tell we would be getting alone quite alright.

Edward POV

I was so nervous as we started following Bella's scent. We drove as fast as we could and within hours we were down in California. We stopped to strategize for a minute and so Jasper could regain his focus for tracking Bella. Every five minutes I whipped out my wallet and looked at the picture I have of Bella. It was one of her senior pictures that Alice gave me, and it was absolutely beautiful. I cannot believe how lucky I was when I first kissed her. I can't believe I gave up on her just to try and change her mind. I know Bella is stubborn, she would never want what is best for herself. She was so selfless and always thought about my happiness first. I do not deserve such a wonderful person. I only hope we will find her alive and that she will take me back. I was so restless; Bella could not be much farther away, could she?

Jasper sniffed Bella's jacket to regain her scent. I hope she is okay.

"Edward," Alice began. "I have something to show you. Bella has been taking an art class, courtesy to my persuasion and drew this." She held out a piece of folded canvas and placed it in my hand. I looked down and unfolded it.

"It's me," I said in awe. "It's so beautiful, Bella drew this?"

"Yes, she did. Look at the comments the teacher wrote on the back side of it."

"She said that Bella has real potential and should consider a career as an artist. Wow, I knew she liked to draw, but she never showed me any of sketches. Though I always managed to sneak a peak at what she was drawing during class. I never got to see the final product. Thanks for showing me this Alice."

"I have one more for you to see. This is her latest work." She took the other drawing out of my hand and slipped it with a piece of canvas. Opening it eagerly, I noticed it was a self portrait. She had captured everything about herself perfectly. My heart melted in my chest. This picture was not black and white like the other one. Her eyes caught my attention first, she matched them almost perfectly to her own eyes. Though I knew nothing could come nearly as close as the real thing. I opened my wallet and looked at the picture I have of Bella and realized she drew her self portrait from that picture.

"Alice, do you think I can keep this?"

"Well, until Bella finds out, I guess you can." For the first time in about a year, I felt myself give the biggest smile I could manage. I felt giddy knowing I could keep a piece of Bella so close to my heart.


	10. Escape

**This will be the last chapter for a while until I get farther ahead in the story. I might even finish the story before I post any more chapters. I don't know I might end up breaking down and posting chapters anyway. Be nice to me and we'll see how it goes.**

BELLA POV

I was growing impatient. I knew my life would be over in less than forty-eight hours. Unless the plan Al and I formulated worked, I would be in the hands of Victoria. That is not how I want to die. I spent most of my time sleeping, or rather pretending to sleep, so Victoria would not confront me. I was intimidated by her enough as it is, I did not need her to see how frightened I am. I felt a tap on my shoulder and I opened one eye to see that it was Al. I felt a little bit safer and sat up to talk to him.

"I've been hearing talk from Victoria. She's planning on killing you tomorrow at noon and changing Frank into a vampire before nightfall. I told her I did not want any part of being a vampire but she simply just said 'Join us or Die.' We need to finalize our plan quickly before Victoria catches on to us."

"Okay Al, now we've gone over this. Bathroom, van, hiding location."

"Right, bathroom, van, hiding location," Al repeated. I sure hoped this plan would work. I did not show any fear to Al because he was the type that needed constant motivation.

"So tomorrow we'll go get lunch, all four of us. I'll make sure Victoria and Frank take a separate car. I don't think they'll disagree, they like as much alone time as they can get."

"As for the secret location, where are we going to meet?"

"How fast can you run?

"Ugh, not very," I lamented not being an athlete.

"Well, then we'll want somewhere close by, but far enough so that Victoria can't smell you."

Oh, no! I did not think about that. I wonder if there are any rest stops near, or possibly a police station. "Al, how far are we from the border?"

"About ten miles."

"Perfect, I'll run there. It will take a while but you should tell Victoria that I had been screaming in my sleep about going to the coast to swim away from here. Maybe Victoria and Frank will go that direction and I can go to the border."

"I guess that sounds alright. Just don't run too close to the road incase they refuse to go to the coast."

"Got it. Thanks Al for helping me. As soon as we get back into Washington I will fulfill my side of the bargain."

"Great, okay Miss Bella, get to sleep now, you'll need all your energy for tomorrow."

I agreed and fell back asleep. I dreamed about Edward and his perfect topaz eyes that melted my heart. For some reason he seemed closer to me than in the past few months. My dream shifted to a beach in Hawaii. I was wearing a bikini that revealed a lot of my pale skin. There standing next to me was someone as white as the sand. Of course it was Edward. On my other side Alice was standing with Jasper. All of their bodies were glowing, except mine. We were playing in the sand and the warm ocean water for hours. It seemed that we were all alone, just a happy family. Edward walked over and wrapped his cool arms around my waist and kissed my neck. All was calm and perfect.

Morning arrived too quickly. Frank came and woke me up by grabbing the roots of my hair and pulling until I screamed. I noticed I had a few new bruises. My eye had turned to a greener shade and it still hurt whenever I thought about it.

"Breakfast is outside, Swan," Frank said in a harsh tone. I followed him outside and found a magnificent feast awaiting for me. I remembered that the whole idea of the plan was to 'fatten me up' so I would taste better to Victoria. I ate the whole meal quickly making it look like I was still hungry.

"That girl just likes to eat and eat," Al said to Frank. Our plan had begun. There would be no going back now. "I think we should make it look like we're going to set her free. You know, fatten her up some more. We should take her out for lunch."

"Not a bad idea Al. How long did it take you to come up with that one yourself?" Frank retorted back snorting and trying hard not to laugh.

"How about at eleven thirty we go take Bella to a fast food restaurant, there is one down the road."

"Okay Al, we can do that. Though we have to have her back before twelve. Victoria is running errands and won't be back until eleven forty-five."

My plan was coming along quite nicely. Even better that Victoria would not be joining us. The next couple of hours flew by. Frank took a car Victoria took the liberty to by him, and Al and I rode in the van.

At eleven forty-five I went to the bathroom, just as planned. I looked around searching for a window. There was no one else in the bathroom so I jumped on top of one of the toilets and broke the window. I hopped out and started running. I was very out of shape, and I hoped being klutzy would not be my downfall today. I saw a sign that said 'US border in nine miles' and I was motivated to run harder. I did not look back and I did not stop. I remembered not to run too close to the road so I ran through grass. I did have a nasty fall after tripping in a hole in the ground. I held my wrist where the pain seemed to burn my arm. If I waited here too long the whole plan would backfire. Holding my wrist I kept running and what seemed like hours later I finally arrived at the border. I kept hidden in a few bushes so no one from the US could see me, but I still looked for Al's van. I heard a familiar voice and I almost ran out of the bushes. I stayed back to identify the voice first to make sure it was not Victoria's voice. To my fortune, it was not. I thought hard for a minute to recollect whose voice I was hearing, but I could not lay my finger on it. Finally it dawned on me. It was Carlisle.

"Carlisle! Carlisle!" I screamed and sprung out of the bushes. "Carlisle, it's Bella! It's Bella, Carlisle, can you hear me?" I did not know if my voice was strong enough to be heard over all the commotion.

"Bella? Bella! I found you!" It was Al.

"Al, there you are, I've been looking for you, thank goodness--" Al cut me off before I could tell him about Carlisle.

"Bella, I have some bad news, Victoria is on her way here right now. She went to the coast like I told her to and didn't find you there. She's heading this way as we speak. Frank just called and he's furious at me, we need to get out of here." Al seemed rather calm, but there was fear hidden in his hazel eyes.

"Well let's get on the other side of the border quick!" Just then more people I knew got out of the car, the Cullens.

"Bella, Bella!" Esme was the first to reach me. "Oh Bella, you're hurt, thank goodness you're alive!" She looked panicked at my condition, apparently I looked pretty bad.

"Yes Esme, I have been hurt while I've been here, but I had a plan to get out of my situation." I turned to Al and said, "This is one of my kidnappers, and my savior. He didn't want to follow orders of Victoria and Frank anymore, so he was helping me get out of this mess. Oh Esme, it's so wonderful to see you."

Esme hugged me, careful not to touch my bruises. Next Carlisle filed out of the car, then Alice, and Jasper. They all hugged me and said how much they missed me. Then, the most important of them all came out, Edward. His entrance stopped my heart, I forgot how gorgeous he was. I felt the blood return to my cheeks and the pain in my wrist was gone for a minute. He walked gracefully toward myself and the rest of the Cullens. He kept some distance between us.

"Bella," he breathed with relief. "I am so glad you are alive. Get into the car, right now." That was a nice greeting, I thought. I've been separated from him for a year and that is all I get? I knew I had to get the best out of how ever little time I have with him. I closed the distance between us and put my arms around him and gave him a heart-filled hug. Al chuckled.

"This must be your Edward. Glad to know someone still loves you."

"Well, that is still up in the air I guess," I managed to whisper.

"Bella," Edward said sternly. "This is to be discussed later, when you are safe, please get into the car right now."

"Hate to say Edward," Al started. "But in order for our plan to work she'll have to ride in my car. Victoria is on her way here and will catch up if we don't break up this love fest right now. She will follow Bella's track and try hunting her again."

"You have a point there Al," Edward said. "How about I ride with you two. I have a lot of things I need to discuss with Bella." I blushed with anger realizing this could end up horribly wrong. I also thought about how poor I must look after not showering for a week, and having bruises every where on my body. The pain in my wrist returned and I felt light-headed.

"Okay, fine with me," Al said. Where should I drive to, is it really wise to go all the way back to Washington right now?"

"Well I'm sure Victoria will catch up with you before then, so just make like you're going to drive back into Washington. Let's go, Carlisle we need to stop Victoria in her tracks. Ride behind us and call me when Alice has a vision about Victoria."

I was now light on my feet as Edward took my wrist and lead me to the van. I winced in pain but he did not notice.


	11. The Truth

**I'm sorry it's been so long guys, but a break was nice. No I have not finished the story yet, but we'll see. I've been writing a second story and I'm a little apprehensive about posting it because it is a Twilight story, but it's incredibly nerdy because Bella and Edward are musicians and it's fairly different from the actual Twilight book. I might post a sample and get some feedback. But anyway, hope you enjoy this chapter, I'm posting a bunch at once so this is my present to you guys for the holidays!!! I hope you like it!**

Bella POV

Edward held his hand out for me and I took it with my good hand as he helped me into the van. I sat in the back and he followed behind me so we could talk in private.

"I slept back here this week," I said and chuckled. "It's kind of like a second home now." Edward did not think that was funny. He looked around the van and shook his head. He stroked my face very carefully; I had forgotten how smooth his skin is. I took his hand that was on my face and put it down next to my side.

"Bella, I am so sorry. This should not have happened to you. I take full responsibility for this. I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me, if you don't I understand."

"Edward, this isn't your fault. Victoria would've been hunting for me even if I hadn't been wandering out at night with a motorcycle anyway. You can't keep blaming yourself for things you didn't do."

"I know Bella, but..." Edward looked so guilty, it made my heart melt and I wanted to take his face in my hands and kiss him. "It's just if I hadn't left you last year, maybe this wouldn't have happened."

"Or maybe it would have Edward. Either way you can't blame yourself for it. Look, Edward I missed you a hell of a lot, but you shouldn't apologize to me when you don't love me anymore, it just will hurt me more in the long run."

"Who told you that I don't love you anymore?" Edward truly looked curious.

"Uh, you did Edward, a year ago."

He looked distraught and put his head in his hands. If he could have cried I'm sure he would have. After a slow minute he picked up his head and said, "You believed me? You believed that lie? Bella, I only said that to make it easier for you to get over me."

"Easier? Easier?! That's bull. I haven't gotten over you Edward, newsflash: I kind of picked who I love a year and a half ago."

"I realize that now, and I haven't gotten over you either. Bella, how many times have I told you I love you?"

"Seriously? I don't know. Many times though, each time more special than the last."

"Bella, I've told you I love you thousands of times. The one time I say I don't love you, you believe it?!"

"What was I suppose to think Edward? It was all so convincing. Besides, how long are you going to stay this time? You did stay away for a year, what if you decide to do the same thing as last time?"

"Bella, this past year has been the worst year of my life. I can't stand being without you. I love you so much, and you are my everything. How can I convince you?"

"The real question is how you're going to convince me you truly mean all of this! What if you go back on your word?"

"Isabella Marie Swan," Edward began. His velvet voice caressed my ears as the words spilled out of his mouth. "I promise you from the bottom of my heart I will never leave you again. Unless you say otherwise, I will always be wherever you are." He took my hand and kissed it. I forgot how cold his skin is, and how easily I get goosebumps. He chuckled a little bit and then held my face. "Seeing you look like this makes my heart burn knowing I could have stopped this. I will never let this happen to you again." He leaned in and pressed his lips to mine. My heart pounded loudly losing control. I pulled away and put my hand against my heart. I forgot how much I liked this feeling.

"Too fast?"

"Are you kidding Edward Cullen, we were apart for a year and you're worried about going too fast?" I threw my arms around him and kissed him back with a great intensity.

He pulled apart this time and said, "Oh how I have missed you. My life is now complete." He put his head next to my heart. "By the way, I think it is wonderful you decided to go to school."

"I need all the human experiences I can get until Alice changes me. The deal was one year of college, then during the summer Alice will change me and I will be a vampire forever. Your plan was eventually going to backfire. I was just worried you wouldn't take me back. Since, well, you know, I thought you didn't love me anymore." Edward gazed at me in shock.

"You're going to throw your life away to become one of us?"

"Edward, I know what I am doing. This is the fate I have chosen."

"But Bella, this is outrageous! You are going to be damned for eternity.

"Edward, I've thought this through, the Cullens have become my second family. I love them as much as I love Charlie or Renee. Either you can accept that or spend eternity hating yourself for letting me decide for myself."

"Eternity. I guess I can accept this. If you're going to do this, I'd rather spend eternity with you instead of apart. It's clear your mind is made up, and you do know what you're getting yourself into, so there is no reason for me to object."

"I'm glad you agree Edward! This will be my dream come true. So, are you going to enroll at U of W now?"

"Right after Victoria is gone. I should be getting a phone call anytime now."

"Oh. Right." I honestly had forgotten about that because nothing else mattered.

"Bella, we'll be okay. I've been reading Carlisle's thoughts and it seems that he has a well-formulated plan. Until then I just want to visit with you and see how much I really missed."

"You missed a lot, that's for sure. But one thing is first." I leaned in and kissed him again. "I love you so much, if I ever have to fake go out with another guy again I will kill myself."

"Ah, Bella, I love you so much too. But, it wasn't that bad? Was it?" His mouth was at my throat, kissing me and making me giggle.

"Yes! It was honestly that bad, he was a terrible kisser! I wanted to throw up afterwards."

"Wait, he kissed you?" Edward looked alarmed now and dropped my hands.

"Yes he kissed me, wait, did you know about my date before just now?"

"Well, I confess, Alice told me. But she left out the part about a kiss."

"It was the most disgusting thing in my life. I want you, and only you." I flung myself at him again, I just couldn't get enough.

When Edward pulled away he said, "I only want you too, and I promise I will never put you through that kind of agony again."

I shrugged and told him,"the important thing is we're together now. I slid my arms up to his neck and sighed. "This is the happiest moment I've had in a long time. This beats graduation, my birthday, and everything else that happened last year combined together. "

"Bella, you're so forgiving, I don't deserve someone so great as you." His eyes were a liquid topaz and made my heart want to melt as he said that. Then he continued before I could argue back, "however, if you want me around, I will stay."

"Well that would be a duh Edward! You clearly don't see how much I missed you."

Edward pulled something out from his pocket then and said, "Oh, I see quite clearly." It was the picture I drew of him in the beginning of the year.

"Where did you get that?"

"Alice."

"Figures," I said crossing my arms together and looking stern. "I've drawn much better than that, I just didn't show Alice because she'd freak out and send them to a museum or something. My art professor almost did until I convinced her I wanted to keep them."

"Bella, it's a beautiful drawing. However, I am more fond of another one." I raised my eyebrows as he pulled a second piece of canvas out of his pocket. He opened it and said, "This is almost as good as the real thing." I realized it was my self portrait. Then he pulled out a picture from his wallet, it was the picture I had used to draw my self portrait.

"My senior pictures! I'm so glad you got one, Alice again?"

"Yes, she gave me this one right after you received yours. After that, I had no contact with Alice because it was so painful. Then I instructed Alice to leave permanently, that's why she left you last year. I am such a cruel person."

"Yes you are!" I started laughing at him. "But, I don't blame you. I don't care anymore Edward, what is important is the present. How many times do I have to drill that into your head?"

"I guess I can live with that. Fine, last year didn't exist in my book. Let's just pick up right where we left off..." I scrunched my face and Edward looked confused. "What are you thinking Bella?"

"Where we left off wasn't great, how about before we left off, and ignore the fight and you saying you didn't love me."

"Fair enough. I seem to recall right where we left off," he smiled his crooked smile and wrapped his arms firmly around my waist. His arms were as hard as stone, but they felt perfect against my skin. He bent down and kissed me with the greatest intensity yet. My mind turned to jelly and I wanted to enjoy this moment as long as I could before Edward's self-control mechanism kicked in and forced us into a moment of awkwardness. Eventually he pulled away and smiled, flashing his perfect teeth at me. I felt light-headed, and a certain kind of high kicked into my system. My hands ruffled Edward's hair and we both chuckled.


	12. My Heart Felt Empty Again

**My chapters are so short, I should just put two together or something. Oh well, hope you guys don't mind. It's just easier for me to make shorter chapters! Hope you like it, I can't believe I wrote this three months ago. O.o**

BELLA POV

I felt Edward's phone vibrate and I woke up from the best sleep I have had in months. Edward sighed, untangled from me, and answered his phone. I felt groggy from my nap and I felt much better than I had all week. Before I realized it, Edward was off the phone and his hands wrapped around my waist. It felt amazing. I sighed happily and looked into his topaz-golden eyes. He caressed my face, wincing when his hands passed over the bruise on my eye.

"Aren't you in any pain at all Bella? This bruise looks so painful. I wish you didn't have to look like this Bella. It pains me."

"I was in a great deal of pain, but it vanished today, all the creaks and aches. Except for my wrist, it hurts more than anything because I tripped and fell earlier today. Something about trying to be brave makes my pain vanish."

"We'll have Carlisle look at your wrist when we are back in Forks. And you are being brave, you are one of the bravest individuals I have met. After all, you can tolerate being around vampires." He laughed and put one of his hands on my wrist. The pain immediately numbed and I felt better. Edward's phone vibrated again and with his other hand he answered the phone.

"Yes Alice, I understand the plan. Thanks for calling me about the change. See you in a few minutes."

"What's going on?" I asked with curiosity burning through my veins.

"Oh, nothing of great importance Bella. We're just finalizing the plan to get you home safely."

"Don't I have a right to know? This plan _is_ about me you know. I guess I'm just worried about the outcome of this. I feel so guilty that this is my entire fault too. I would have been safer if I had not gone out and borrowed a motorcycle. I feel like such an idiot."

"Bella, don't beat yourself up over this. It could have happened even if you were in school. Don't be worried either, you'll be completely safe."

"I'm not worried about my safety, I'm worried about everyone else. Well, you should at least tell Al, he is kind of the driver here." I had a plan of my own formulating in my head to get Edward to tell me.

"He doesn't have to know, the less people that know, the better. He'll pull over when I tell him to do so. And we'll be fine, if it makes you feel any better you will be with Alice and Esme."

Edward was starting to crumble to my persuasion. I took his hand and played with it. He hated it when I was silent for too long. He sighed and said, "Okay Bella, I'll tell you just because you know my weaknesses. The plan is for you to go home with Alice and Esme while Jasper, Carlisle, and I take care of Victoria."

My eyes went wide, "You mean we just reunited and now you have to leave again?"

"Bella, love, I'm not putting you in any more danger. Between the three of us we will finish the job easily. You will be back in Washington before you know it. It's the beginning of Christmas break, you can stay at our house in Forks until your bruises heal, then you can visit Charlie."

"But, Edward, what if you don't come back? Please, please don't leave me. I don't know what I would do if you didn't come back."

"Bella, I will come back. We should only be a couple of hours behind you--" suddenly his phone vibrated again. He signed, untangled our hands and answered the phone.

"Al, can you pull over real fast please?" Edward shouted to him. He had to speak loud over the roar of the van engine.

"Sure, it's nothing. You two okay back there?"

"Fine, thanks Al" I replied with some sadness.

"Are you sure Bella, is he treating you alright?"

"He's great Al, it's just that we have to part again, and it's so hard for me."

"Ah, love, such a wonderful emotion. Okay I'm pulling over right now." The Cullen car was already pulled off to the side of the highway. Edward scooped me up in his arms and said, "Nothing will change the way I feel about you, I promise I'll be back a couple of hours after you return to Forks. I love you so much Bella Swan and I am eager to spend the rest of forever with you." His lips planted themselves onto mine, and this kiss was filled with intensity and a sense of urgency. It was too short. Before I knew it I was strapped into the Cullen's car. Alice and Esme were sitting in the front. Edward waved and then we were off back to Forks. My stomach lurched and I felt sick. My heart felt empty again.


	13. Family

**So I just realized that after that last chapter, I hadn't marked any more chapter breaks..... It's this giant long chapter. In my document it started at chapter five and had chapter marks until whatever chapter this is... And that was on page 11, and so from that page to page 48 is one giant long chapter. Wow, I'm really smart, huh? So I'll do my best at cutting them off but I apologize if it isn't the same as my original intent, it's just kinda at a glance where I thought it would be okay.**

We sped through California without stopping, without looking back. I wanted Edward so badly, just to hear him say "I'm here." When we reached Oregon I had to stop to eat. It felt strange to be so close to home, and I felt very thankful for still being alive. I had hope Edward, Carlisle, and Jasper would make it back safely. I could not get too confident though, whenever that happened I always got knocked down and humbled. I ate quickly so Esme could resume driving us home. For the first time all year, I felt like I needed to be in Forks. I wanted to see Charlie, and oddly I felt the urge to drive to La Push and visit Jacob too. I had not thought about Jacob at all so far this year, and I am sure he is very upset that I have not even called. I was also excited for real food, I had lost weight after eating one meal a day, and it consisting of television dinners or fast food. Though a small McDonalds meal was fine at the present moment. When I was finished Esme continued speeding back home, now it was dark outside. When we reached Forks I felt like running out of the car and kissing the ground. I felt safe.

"Welcome home Bella," Esme said. "I'm sure Edward, Jasper, and Carlisle are fine. How is your wrist doing?"

"It is in a lot of pain, but it only hurts when I think about it."

"When Carlisle gets home we'll fix you up and make you brand new again."

"Thank you so much Esme. Do you mind if I borrow your phone, I want to make a couple calls."

"Sure, go ahead." She handed me her cell phone and I contemplated who I should call first. I decided I should call Charlie and tell him when I would be 'coming home' so he would not worry. I dialed my former home number and he picked up on the first ring.

"Hello?"

"Charlie! It's Bella!" I had some enthusiasm in my voice, I was really happy to talk to him.

"Bells! Wow, it's so great to hear from you! How are you doing, when are you coming home?"

"It's nice to hear your voice too. I'm fine, and I'm coming home in a few days. What's been going on, how's work, how's everyone?"

"Everyone's okay, and work has been fine also. Gosh Bella it's so great to hear from you. Jacob has been bothering me for ages asking if he's heard from you. What have you been up to this past week?"

Uh oh, I had not thought of a cover story yet. I decided I would wing it and make it as convincing as I could. "Well Charlie I had a lot of work to do, and studying for final tests and such. I haven't called Jacob yet but I am going to do so right after I finish talking to you. I'll go surprise him when I get back."

"Sounds good Bells. How's school been? You sound like you've been doing better lately, my what a change a week can do to a person. Who knew finals could make someone happy."

"Well, Charlie Alice has really helped me this past week, you have no idea. College has started to change me and it's been good."

"Have you met any new boys yet?"

"There's one that likes to stare at me and we went out for a movie once, but that's it."

"And you didn't give him a second chance?"

"He just wasn't my cup of tea, he's still a nice friend."

"Well glad to hear you're getting out there and making some friends. How is Alice?"

"She's great, the whole roommate thing has been a breeze and she helps me with my work often too."

"Good Bella, glad to hear that. Well hate to cut you off, but there's a basketball game starting in a couple minutes, and it's suppose to be a good one."

Same old Charlie, always obsessed with sports. "Okay Charlie, that's fine. I'll see you in a few days."

"Great, the food sucks without you Bella!"

I laughed and said, "Okay I'll cook you a nice Christmas dinner and we'll both like real food."

"Nice talking to you Bella, love you."

"Love you too Charlie!!!"

"Bye Bells." The phone line dead and I smiled to myself. Then I dialed Jacob's number.

"Hello?"

"Jacob?"

"Bella?"

"Hi Jacob, how are you doing?"

"BELLA! How are you doing? Why haven't you called me earlier, I've been so worried about you! How's college? How are your classes? Have you made many new friends? Please don't tell me you've met any new boys, no one will be good enough for my Bella."

"Whoa, slow down Jake. One question at a time. I'm fine, but I need you to make sure you're alone."

"Okay, I can do that. What is it Bells?"

"During the past week I was kidnapped Jake, I'm cutting straight to the chase so you better keep up with my pace."

"What? Bella! Are you okay? Have they hurt you? Call the police!"

"Jake, remember, one question at a time. I'm fine. I'm not kidnapped anymore, and it's being taken care of right now. Victoria had a couple guys come take me one night when I rented a motorcycle and I was held hostage down in Mexico all week. If it hadn't been for the Cullens, I would be dead right now."

"Wow, Bella, are you sure you're okay? By Cullens, you mean Alice and Jasper, right?"

"Jake, I mean Alice, Jasper, Carlisle, Esme...." I paused at the last name. "And Edward."

I heard a low growling sound and Jacob said, "you mean, that bloodsucker?"

"Yes Jake. He came back. He knew I was in danger, and he came back. He's not here right now, he's taking care of Victoria and he hopefully will be back in a couple of hours."

"By back, where do you mean?"

"At their house in Forks."

"You mean, you're in Forks?"

"Yes Jake, I'm in Forks. But Charlie can't know. I'm badly bruised and I can't say that I tripped over and over again, so I'm waiting until the bruises heal a bit and then I will face him."

"He'll flip his lid if he finds out Edward is back in town."

"I know, and I haven't told him yet. Edward is going to do that himself, he's better with persuasion."

"So, Bella, do you still...love him?"

"Yes Jacob, I do. I never got over him. Though you helped me heal the wound in my heart, it was only a scab compared to how Edward makes me feel. Jacob, I want to spend the rest of eternity with him. He's who I love and after going a year without him I want him forever."

"I guess I can't change your mind. When you're feeling Bella, come visit me. I have something for you."

"Aw, Jake. You didn't have to get me anything."

"No Bella, I did, this is important to me, so be sure that you will visit me here in La Push. I need to go and tell the pack of this news and I'll talk to you later."

For a minute I had forgotten that Jacob is a werewolf. "Okay Jake, it was nice talking to you. See you soon."

"Miss you Bella. I'm glad that you're okay now. Take care of yourself."

"Thanks Jake, you too."

"Bye Bells."

"See ya Jake." Then the line went dead. I gave the phone back to Esme once I walked into the house. I gazed in the house remembering all the wonderful things that have happened in this house. It still looked as wonderful as ever, even though the Cullens have been absent from this house for a long time. I sat down on a leather couch and sighed happily. Esme dialed her phone and started talking to someone. I hoped it was Carlisle on the other end. When she hung up I looked at her trying to read her expression.

"That was Carlisle," she said with no hint of excitement or disappointment. She continued and said, "They're on their way home. Victoria is gone forever."

"That's wonderful!" I felt joy come over my body and immediately I relaxed.

"They're in San Diego, so they won't be back until early morning."

"Well, in that case, I'm going to curl up and sleep, even though I've been sleeping so much this week I'm physically exhausted and I'm anxious to be rested and feeling better."

"Good idea," Alice said as she walked into the room. "We have a bed upstairs in my room, I think you deserve a night of peaceful sleep. But first, can you go take a shower?"

"Oh, an even better idea Alice. I'll go do that right now. I need some clothes to change into also, I'm just going to throw these away since they smell so bad."

"Already taken care of Bella, believe me, you won't have a shortage."

"Figures," I said sarcastically. I ran upstairs and took a shower. It felt wonderful to be clean again. I changed into some pajamas and climbed into Alice's bed. It felt like heaven compared to sleeping in the back of the van. Oh! Al! What about him? He better be safe, I still have to live up to my side of the bargain. I thought about this for a while and drifted off into a deep sleep. I awoke to a cold hand on my face, just like my first week at college.


	14. Accident

**Last one for the night, I'll post more tomorrow. Well hopefully I'll remember! **

Did I wake you? I'm so sorry Bella." I heard a humming of my lullaby, something I had not heard in a long time. Relief washed over me as I realized Edward returned safely. I could not resist melodious tune and I fell back into another deep slumber. When I finally woke up I looked at the most gorgeous person on the planet.

"Good morning sunshine," Edward said. He leaned down and kissed my forehead. I smiled and searched for his hand. I remembered my wrist still hurt painfully and I winced. Edward gently took it and said, "We need to get you to Carlisle right now and get this fixed, it shouldn't hurt that much." He took my good hand and pulled me out of bed. I felt light on my feet and traveled down the hall with Edward pulling me. He knocked on Carlisle's office door and then went inside.

"Carlisle, Bella's wrist is causing much pain to her, I think she needs an X-ray."

I immediately felt light-headed when he said X-ray, it made me feel nauseous thinking about hospitals. I hated visiting any hospitals, but unfortunately made frequent visits to them.

"Let Bella eat and get dressed and we'll take her down and get an X-ray done to see if she fractured it. Then I can fix her up quickly and she'll be as good as new."

"Thanks Carlisle, come on Bella let's get you fed so you can feel better."

"Oh, I'm feeling fine," I managed to choke. I did feel fine, I have the most wonderful person on the entire earth holding my hand. Edward just shook his head and lead me downstairs. He made me breakfast that consisted of a cheese omelet and toast. It was delicious for a person who does not eat food.

"I assume you would like a human moment or two?"

"You assumed correctly, though unfortunately it means I can't look at your gorgeous face for a couple minutes."

"Wow Bella, it seems as though you just read my mind." He bent down and kissed me on the cheek and then let go of my hand.

"Oh, okay fine I'll go get dressed." I ran upstairs and found Alice. "I need some clothes Alice." I could not believe I was asking Alice for clothes.

"Already taken care of Bella, they're on the bed you slept in last night."

"Well, thanks Alice. I appreciate it."

She chuckled and said, "No problem, if you ever need any I'm your gal!"

I walked into the room and realized it was a bad idea to have Alice pick out my clothes for me. She picked out a pretty red dress that had a big black belt in the middle of it. I sighed and put it on knowing that I had no other options. She had black flats laid out for me to put on too. It helped defer attention away from my bruises, and I guessed that was the intent by the outfit. I went into the bathroom, combed my hair, and brushed my teeth. I walked out and found Carlisle. Edward met us out at the car and gasped when I got into the car.

"You look beautiful Bella. Alice has great taste." He kissed my neck and held my good hand. We were at the Forks hospital in a couple minutes. I was being whisked away to the X-ray department and after many minutes Carlisle was looking at my arm.

"Looks like it's a fracture Bella. And you're sure you just tripped?" he asked jokingly.

"Yes Carlisle, I was only trying to run for my life." It seemed like forever ago that I was held hostage.

"This means we get to put a cast on your arm, come on we'll get you out of here soon." I followed Carlisle to get a cast fitted to my arm. Edward was forced to sit in the waiting room because I did not want him getting upset if I did break my arm. Within a matter of minutes Carlisle was finished.

"It's nice being able to work at my speed around you Bella. Though, I would rather not do it because it's hard to see you hurt."

I laughed and said, "Well I'm glad you can do this quickly, it barely hurt!" I hopped off the medical table and walked out the doorway. "Thanks Carlisle, for everything. For the cast, for helping me yesterday, you really are a second father to me."

"Well, Bella, you're one of the family, and I would do anything for family. I love you like I love any of my children." I walked over and gave Carlisle a hug. He seemed surprised at first but returned the hug with love. I walked out of the room and back to where Edward was. The last time I had been here with Edward was when I was almost hit by a van. I got shivers up my spine as I remembered that. Though I had been to this hospital a couple times in the last year with Jacob.

Edward rushed over to me and examined the cast, "Oh, no! You did fracture your wrist." He wrapped me in a tight hug and seemed very concerned.

Keeping it light I said, "Gee, I should break bones more often if I get this kind of response." I winked at Edward who frowned for a quick second and then smiled my favorite crooked smile. He bent down and kissed me. When we pulled apart he pressed my head against his chest. I wish I could have stayed in that position forever.

The next couple of days were the best of my life. Edward helped tutor me with my college work. My bruises were slowly healing. I would pay a visit to Charlie and Jacob in the near future.

"Edward, would you absolutely kill me if I went and visited Jacob?"

"That's not funny."

"What isn't?" I was confused. Then it dawned on me, I said 'kill me'. "Oops, I didn't mean it like that. Sometimes I forget that you're a vampire. I just wondered how you would feel if I went and visited him. He is a werewolf and I know that you guys are natural enemies. He didn't like the fact that you came back when I called him the other day. I think I should go visit him and see if he's okay, I haven't seen him since September. I'm going through withdrawals. Only not as severe as...well...never mind."

"Well, I understand. I think that you should be able to see Jacob, but under the condition that Charlie is there with you. It's important for me to trust you so if you think it's safe to hang around young, wild werewolves, then be my guest."

"Okay, I will. If I can hang out with Emmett, a werewolf won't be too bad." I laughed and Edward flashed a sarcastic smile. I stretched to my toes so I could kiss him. I'll wait another day then, I think most of my bruises should be gone and tomorrow I can get away with not having enough sleep instead of a black eye.

"That leaves today for us to do what we want. Any requests?"

"Hmmm...A trip to Hawaii!"

"Nice try Bella."

"Ever since I had that dream of going to Hawaii, I want to go so badly."

"Dream?"

"Yes, I had a dream while I was being held hostage that we were in Hawaii. And by we I mean you, me, Alice, and Jasper. We were messing around on the beach and having fun. Nothing disturbed us and could really enjoy ourselves. There were no people around and your bodies gleamed in the sunlight. It was the most beautiful thing I've ever seen."

"Hawaii does sound nice, no way we can make it there and back in a day though. Nice thought though. Anything else?"

"Well, I've always wanted to go skiing, and it is snowing outside."

"You always have to go for the dangerous stuff, no building snowmen or singing Christmas carols?"

"Please Edward, I've never done it before, besides, you'll be there to protect me. We can build snowmen on the mountain or at the lodge." I gave him a sad eyes look and he sighed.

"Okay, I guess we can go. I have skis, but we'll have to rent you some when we get up to the mountain."

"Yay!!" I jumped up and down and grabbed onto Edward's waist.

"You can be so stubborn at times."

"Well, I just know your weakness."

"I know yours too, I just don't play that card very often." He bent down and kissed me with great intensity. When he pulled off of me he said, "Oh, wait, maybe I do play that card sometimes."

"Haha, very funny. Let's go, I want to have fun!"

Edward went out into the garage and quickly put chains on the tires of his Volvo. I walked out grabbing a heavy jacket and extra set of warm clothes to put on when we got to the mountain. Edward drove as fast as always and excitement flooded my veins. Whenever I tried anything dangerous when Edward was away, his velvet voice would haunt me. Now his velvet voice would be right there with me, helping me, protecting me.

I changed into my heavier clothes while Edward rented some skis for me. I assumed Edward was a master at skiing so there was no need for a teacher. We started on a bunny slope at first and once I proved I was better than a six-year-old, Edward let me try going up to the summit. We sat on the chairlift looking out at the scenery, it was beautiful. I was sharing it with the most beautiful person on the planet, too. I held Edward's hand the whole time, not caring if I was cold.

"Okay Bella, we're going to take an easy route. There's nothing hard about this run, and I'll be right next to you or behind you at all times. Don't be afraid, you can do this."

"I'm not afraid! Remember, I wanted to do this!" I put on my goggles and said, "On your mark, get set--" and before Edward could say "Wait!" I was already off down the slope. It was exhilarating, the wind whipped through my hair and I felt like I was going at the speed of light. I started laughing and giggling and lost my concentration. I kept going straight downhill until I saw a tree in my way. I panicked and veered off right. I was no longer going straight, but turning. I forgot how to stop, it wasn't important at the time because I was initially going straight. I tried to look over my shoulder to find Edward but I could not see him. I bet he was right behind me. The speed kept me in motion and I was in an uncharted territory. I was surprised I had kept upright this long. I slowed down to a stop when I lost momentum. I had no idea where I was and frantically looked around for Edward. Where could he be? I slid around a little bit and found a map. I had transferred to the most difficult run on the mountain. There were no other skiers around for miles. I had no idea where I would go next, so I started going back downhill. I could make it back to the lodge if I got down to the bottom of the mountain. The only way back down, however, was skiing down the backside of the mountain. I dug the poles into the ground and propelled myself forward. When I forgot about being lost, I started having fun. After about an hour I was confused again and even more lost than before. I stopped and looked around, still no Edward. There was a tree nearby that looked comfortable. I slid toward it and sat down, I was exhausted. Stay calm was all I could think about, and hoping Edward was somewhere close. I scratched my head wondering how often people traveled back this way. The clouds overhead blackened, it looked like a snowstorm was headed in about an hour. I decided to keep moving downward in hopes to find someone. After another half hour I was very close to the bottom and I could not see people anywhere. There were not even roads or signs of cars. I started worrying that no one would find me and I would die out here. Maybe skiing was not a good idea. I found another tree and decided to sit there for a while and maybe someone would find me. The clouds looked black and within a matter of minutes I could not see anything in front of me. I started to cry wishing I was at home with Edward and Charlie. My stomach growled and I looked at my watch. It was already 5:30, and I ate lunch at 11 this morning. I rested my head on my knees and cried. Another hour went by and still nothing.

After three more hours I tried standing up in the snow. It was very difficult and it went clear up to my waist. The storm was over and the night was clear. The stars were beautiful. However, I was cold, hungry, and wet. I desperately wanted to go home. I sat back down in the snow and closed my eyes. The night passed and morning arose. A hand was on my face when I woke up.

"I found her!" an unfamiliar voice said. He had a white cross against a red shirt. Soon another pair of arms were on my shoulders.

"Bella, Bella! Wake up! Bella!" I felt delusional, was I in hell? Again, the sweet voice said, "Bella, Bella look at me, it's Edward!" I was not in hell. I was in heaven. My eyes opened all the way to see his beautiful face.

"Edward, you made it to heaven with me."

"Rodney, go get a blanket, she's delusional."

"Am I?" I replied back. "As long as I'm with you I'm always in heaven."

"She's incoherent too Rodney, we're going to have to get her back to the lodge soon!" Edward scooped me up into his arms and placed me onto a snowmobile. Rodney sat behind me and strapped me in tightly. Within a half hour we were back at the lodge and I was laying on the floor.

"Put her next to the fire so she can warm up faster," Rodney told Edward. I was immediately set down near the fire, I wished Edward would hold me while I was in front of the fire.

"I'm so sorry Edward, I must've gotten lost."

"It's okay Bella, I should have given you a map. I'm just so happy you're alive and safe." He kissed my cheek and smiled. "You scared me though, I suggest next time you wait until I'm ready instead of taking off without me."

"Next time? You mean, there will be a next time?"

"Well, if I keep a better eye on you then sure there can be a next time, unless you didn't enjoy yourself."

"No I did, until I started crying from not being able to find you. I also owe you an apology for taking off without you, I assumed you would catch up to me."

"Silly Bella, it's fine. And I did catch up but then you veered into a different direction and I thought you continued going straight, and that was my mistake. How are you feeling?"

"Oh, fine actually, the fire feels wonderful. Say, what time is it?"

"About six in the morning, why?"

"Do you think I can go visit Charlie today?"

"Shouldn't you take a day and rest, you had a long night."

"I'll be okay, I want to see him, and I want my own clothes that I left behind." I missed my sweat pants deeply compared to the clothes Alice had given me the past few days.

"If you insist, but the minute you start feeling tired you're going to go straight up to your bedroom and rest."

"Yes Dr. Cullen," I said in a mocking tone.

"Wrong Cullen, Bella." He smirked and looked into the fire. I tried to stand up by myself but my legs were still numb. "Easy Bella," Edward said without deferring his gaze from the fire. He then looked at me and helped me up onto my feet. I was very sore, but did not tell Edward. I really wanted to see Charlie, and surprise Jacob also. We walked out into the parking lot, and I winced as the cold hit my face. Edward scooped me up into his arms and walked swiftly to the car and strapped me in my seat. We sped home and made it back in half an hour.


	15. Charlie

**So I screwed up these two chapters kind of, it should've been one huge long chapter. But I don't think it's that big of a deal, it fits in with my short chapter pattern fairly well so I'll just deal with that. Sorry if the ending of the last chapter sucked though, I didn't know where to cut it off or anything. D: **

"Edward, can I borrow your cell phone?" I asked when he scooped me up in his arms and gazed at me like I was Aphrodite, the goddess of love.

"Sure Bella, dial away. I'll be inside talking to Carlisle, take your time," he said in his irresistible velvet voice.

I dialed Charlie's number, it was Saturday so surely he'd be home for a while unless he already went fishing.

"Hello?"

"Charlie! Good, I caught you. Say, I'm in town, can I come home?"

"Bells, what kind of question is that? Of course you can come home, I have your room made up for you and everything! Are you staying with Alice right now?"

"Uh, yeah I am. She'll drive me over in a few minutes. We got back very late last night and I didn't want to wake you."

"Busy partying again, aren't we?"

"Oh, you know it. So you're sure that I can come over, I hope I'm not interrupting your day."

"I didn't have anything planned Bella, it's perfect."

"Cool, say do you think we could go visit Billy and Jacob in La Push today? I want to surprise Jake, maybe we can have lunch with them."

"Sounds good Bella! See you in a few minutes."

"Okay, bye Charlie!"

"Bye Bells!" The line went dead and I closed the phone. Excitement ran through my veins once again and I danced my way inside the house.

"Where's Alice?" I said looking around.

"She went hunting," Esme replied.

"What? Shoot! I told Charlie she would come drop me off at my house."

"That's okay," Edward said. "I'll drive you. Charlie will be surprised to see me."

"Edward, I haven't told him that you're back. I don't know how he'll react, especially if he knew you're home while I was staying with Alice."

"Well, then I will drive you back in her convertible, though you'll have to take your stuff in yourself."

"Stuff? I thought I left it all at school?"

"When Alice brought your school work back she also brought back your own clothes too. She didn't want to tell you until you went home."

"Alice," I said angrily. "Oh well, let's go, I want to see Charlie."

We walked to the car and sped to Charlie's house. Before I got out of the car I kissed Edward goodbye and said, "Right where we left off tonight," and I pointed up to my room. It has been a long time since Edward has watched me sleep.

Edward squeezed my good hand and kissed me one more time. I grabbed all my stuff from the back seat since there was not very much. I opened the door and Charlie immediately wrapped me in a giant hug.

"Oooh Bella you're home! How I've missed you so! Now my food will be good again, and there will be life in this house!" He spun me around in his arms and rocked me back and forth. He finally set me down and said, "How are you doing?"

"Fine, Charlie. Do I hear water running?"

"Uh, no, no you don't!" Charlie was obviously hiding something. I walked into the kitchen and almost had a heart attack.

"Jacob!!"

"Bella!!!!!!" he ran over and gave me a bone crushing hug. "Oh Bella I've missed you so much," and he whispered in my ear, "thank God you're alive." Jacob set me down on the floor and took my bags up into my room.

"Charlie that boy has grown so much."

"He's over six foot, it's impressive how strong he is."

"I thought we were going to surprise him this afternoon!"

"Well, we decided to surprise you, and it looks like it worked."

"Certainly!! I am surprised."

"Well glad, we've missed you so much Bella, I'm glad you're here for Christmas."

"It doesn't look like Christmas around here, the house looks bare."

"Well, that is our mission today, Jacob is going to help us put up the Christmas lights and we have our fake tree in the garage along with stockings and all that other Christmas-y stuff."

"Sounds good. Something smells really good too, what is it?"

"Hot chocolate. I know it's your favorite."

"That it is! I'm going to get some right now." I was still cold from early this morning, but as I poured the hot chocolate into a mug my hands immediately warmed up. "This is so nice, it's warm."

"You still haven't adjusted to Washington winters, have you?"

I lied and said, "No, guess I never will." I drank out of my mug nervously thinking Charlie could hear past the lie.

"Well, maybe it's just one of those things you're born with, though you might adapt someday."

Jacob walked down the stairs then and said, "So Bella, did you like my going-away present?"

I turned my head and gave Jake my biggest smile. "It's perfect, I love it. Right now it's sitting on my desk where I do school work."

"Good. So how is your blood---" he froze. And I froze at the same time. "I mean, biology class?"

"I thought you didn't have biology this term Bella?" Fortunately Charlie did not pay much attention to Jacob's mistake.

"He means Biology club. I joined at the beginning of the term. It's good, fun. Though the other day they did blood sampling and I had to step out of the room." That lie almost seemed convincing.

"Wow Bells, I didn't think you liked science all that much. Well I'm proud of you, that's a good way to meet new people. Blood has never been your thing either, hopefully you didn't pass out!" He bought the lie. I was stunned, since when has Charlie become so gullible? I am terrible at lying.

"Yeah, well I joined for the science part of it. The people are okay I guess."

"Bella," Jacob started. "Does that mean I can't make fun of you and call you a geek?"

Laughing I said, "Yes Jake, no making fun of me. There are no geeks in this house, just the smart and the smarter." We all laughed and sat down at the kitchen table. We talked for a couple hours straight about everything. Nothing interesting has happened in Forks since I left and I knew that was because of the Cullens. Eventually we pulled stuff out from the garage and began decorating the house. Jacob put up the lights outside because it was raining and he was the only one brave enough to do it. I helped Charlie set up the fake tree (that I have always hated) and we decorated it with ornaments and more lights. When it was five in the afternoon I started making dinner. I could see Charlie's mouth watering.

"Real food!" Charlie exclaimed.

"I know, campus food gets old after a while too. Especially pasta. I haven't had meatloaf in a long time, and I bet you haven't either, so something new for all of us!"

"Sounds good Bella." Meanwhile, Jake came in soaking wet.

"Charlie, got a towel I can borrow?"

"Jacob, you're not wearing a coat even! You're soaked to the bone! Aren't you freezing?"

Jacob and I both knew the answer to that question. I tried to hide my smile as I heard Jacob's response. "Nah, rain doesn't really bother me that much. I just don't like being this wet," Jacob replied.

"Well, there are towels in the bathroom upstairs."

"Great, be back in a minute." Jacob wandered up the stairs and found a spare towel and dried off. We sat down to dinner and talked the whole time. Charlie told me about what I have missed being away at college for so long. The truth was that I really had not missed much at all. Jacob was telling me about school and the kind of trouble him and his buddies get into on the reservation. At about seven in the evening we decided to bake cookies, something I had not done in a long time. We all had fun, just the three of us. An hour went by and we were just finishing up a batch of chocolate chip cookies. The doorbell rang and immediately everything stopped.

"Wonder who that could be?" Charlie said. He walked to the door and opened it. "Get out, I don't want to see you within a hundred miles of this house! Now, GET!" His face turned purple from what I could see. I walked toward the door curious to see if I should go grab Charlie's shot gun. "Bella, stay out of this," Charlie said while sticking his hand behind him to stop me. It was too late, I saw who our guest was.

"Edward?" I said in disbelief. I thought he would wait a few days, or months, if he ever came and told Charlie he still loved me. I heard Jacob growl in the background, he clearly was not happy.

"Bella, I told you to stay back," Charlie said almost yelling. "Don't worry, he won't come near you."

"Charlie, let Edward come in, it's obvious he has to say something."

"But Bella, this _boy_ hurt you last year, he has no right to come in this house."

"Please, Charlie, five minutes alone with Bella. I need to talk to her about something important, mainly the reason why I'm here," Edward said.

"Charlie, I'm a big girl, I can handle myself."

"Fine Bella, you do what you want. But only five minutes." Edward stepped in the house and I led him up to my room so we could 'talk' in private.

"Very convincing Bella, you fooled Charlie. You held your character very well."

"Same to you, but I didn't think you would come and reveal yourself so soon! There goes my nice evening."

"I'm sorry for ruining what seemed like a very nice family moment. I just can't stay away from you for very long."

"Okay, well we need a game plan then for convincing Charlie that you're here to stay, and that you do still love me. I don't know how you plan to earn back his trust, he's not one who is so forgiving."

"I'm going to ask you to escort Jacob out of the house, and I think Charlie and I need to talk alone."

"That sounds fine, are you sure you don't want me there though? Charlie may not believe you unless I say something."

"I'm fine, besides I have my mind so I can convince Charlie easily. Fear not, love." Edward put his arms around my waist and rocked me back and forth. I loved this feeling so much, I never wanted to let him go. "I'm going to need you to do something else too Bella," Edward said in between kissing my cheek.

"Sure, anything," I said.

"Keep a straight face when you go downstairs, Charlie will not be pleased if he sees you that happy."

"Okay, I can do that. Guess we better go face him, huh?"

Edward moaned and tightened the grip around my waist. My hands grabbed his and he loosened his grip. I turned around and kissed him with great intensity. "Guess this is all apart of taking responsibility for my consequences," Edward replied. He signed and squeezed my hand. We both turned around and I started down the stairs first.

"Jacob, you wanna go for a little walk, the rain has stopped."

"Sure Bells, anything you want." We started out the door and I connected with Edwards eyes one last time before I closed the door.


	16. Accepted

**So I thought it would be interesting to get a glimpse of what I think Charlie's personality is. I swear Charlie could be my uncle or something because we think alike and he seems so different on the inside than what he does on the outside. I might do more of Charlie later because I love writing about him!**

-- CHAPTER POV EDWARD

I was shaking on the inside as I walked down the stairs to meet my fate. I was so lucky that I could read Charlie's thoughts, maybe persuading him would be easy. Maybe I should just tell him the truth that I'm madly in love with Bella and being apart from her is unbearable.

_Why should I let Bella put up with this immature boy. I should just get a restraining order, she was just fine when she came back home. I thought she finally got over him. Bella and Jacob would be so perfect together. This ruins everything. Better try and pretend to listen to the boy. Though if he cuts into game time then I am going to kick him out forever._

"Charlie," I began. "I know I have caused Bella a lot of pain and suffering over the past year. I have also suffered a lot over the past year too."

_Yeah right. He probably hooked up with several other girls. Anyone that looks like he does cannot go over a full year without some kind of lady. If he had any idea what condition Bella was in when he left her...why I should just kick him out now. Note to self: give Bella a new pepper spray can for Christmas. _

"Go on, I'm listening," Charlie said obviously not caring.

"I went to Canada to visit some extended family of mine because I thought Bella should have time to herself. She needed to experience some other men and get to know other people, it was so hard for me to lie to her and tell her that I did not love her anymore. Obviously, that was not the case because I thought about her every day. I also asked myself every day if I made the right decision to leave Bella. Finally it just became too much, Alice needed to come back because she missed her friends too much. I refrained because I didn't want Bella resort back to her old ways. Alice fed reports to me about how depressed Bella was and how she talked in her sleep about me. I couldn't stand my environment in Canada. Nothing seemed right without Bella. I love her more than I thought I did a year ago. She's so important to me, almost like my other half."

_I knew Alice would have something to do with his return. What a pity, I always liked Alice, such a good friend to Bella. How will I know if he's really back for good though, he could get up and leave again. Now he's going to spend every waking moment with Bella too, it makes me want to gag. When he does leave she's going to be hurt even more. I should call Billy and Jake over here, then maybe we can scare him away.  
_

"Bella seemed to be doing just fine when she came here today, how do I know she was really as depressed as Alice said she was?"

"Well Alice hinted to Bella she might have a special Christmas present coming, which was my arrival back to Forks. She let it slip to Bella and for the last couple of weeks Bella's mood has improved greatly Alice told me. The reason why Bella was so surprised to see me was because she didn't know when I would be back. Though Bella can pick and choose her friends and boyfriends, but in our discussion we both agreed we missed each other enormously. Charlie, it's Bella's decision to take me back, and she's decided she loves me as much as I love her. Carlisle and Esme decided they're going to work in Seattle, so I'm enrolling at the University of Washington. I'm going to major in business so I probably won't have any classes with Bella. We're going to take things slow, since we have to build up our trust again."

_But Jacob is so perfect for her, why can't he see that? Why can't Bella see that? The Blacks are practically family anyway, why not make it official? Grr why did I ever have to become a cop and follow the law? My gun is just in the other room.... but that would probably mean Bella wouldn't ever come back to visit me again. And I do want Bella in my life. I swear if this boy breaks her heart again I am going to hunt him down and take care of it my way.  
_

"If Bella decides she doesn't love me anymore, I probably deserve it. I am a scum-bag for thinking that I wouldn't hurt Bella. I just want to give us another shot because I truly believe she is my soul mate."

_Pffft soul mates. Renee said I was her soul mate, but look how long that lasted. _

Just then Bella and Jacob walked through the door. Instantly a foul smell approached my nose. I did everything in my power to try not to wrinkle my nose in front of Charlie.

"Oh, I'm so sorry. I would've thought you guys would be done by now," Bella said flushing bright pink. I loved it when she blushed. Then I noticed that she was soaking wet from head to toe. "It started raining so we thought we would come and head back, then it started pouring a couple blocks away. We ran for it deciding we didn't want to be outside any longer."

"It's okay Bella," Charlie said. "We were just finishing."

"Charlie, I'm going to get going," Jacob said. "Billy is expecting me home and I really need to change into dry clothes." _Well actually I can't stand the smell of that bloodsucker. Why do I have to be the one that puts on a happy face for her. Bella needs to see that we are destined for each other, I could make her so happy! I don't have to worry about killing her either._

"Okay Jacob, take care of yourself, and drive safely."

"Thanks for having me here Charlie! Dinner was amazing Bella." _Take that bloodsucker, Charlie likes me more than you. Watch this!_ He picked up Bella in a tight hug and spun her around in the room. I wanted it to be me in that position desperately right now.

"Whoa Jake, take it easy! No problem about the food, see you around," Bella responded.

_This will really drive him over the edge._ Jacob pecked Bella on the cheek. If I could punch him I would in a nanosecond. Then Jacob made his way out the door and into the rain.

"Ugh, I swear Jacob gets more perverted throughout the years," Bella said wiping her cheek. "So, Charlie, you heard what Edward has to say?"

"Yes Bella."

"Well, what is your opinion? What you have to say influences my life, though part of me might deceive you anyway."

"Bella, I'm not exactly happy with this, but it's your decision. If you decide you love Edward, then I can't stand in the way." _As much as I would love to stand in the way and beat him up in the process. _

A smile lit my face and I felt overjoyed. I felt like going and giving Bella a bone-crushing hug myself. Bella grinned and looked so beautiful. She went over and hugged Charlie and then came and gave me a sincere hug.

"This is so great Charlie, thank you so much," I said.

"Yeah, yeah. Well you kids don't get into too much trouble, I'm going to watch the game." He grumbled and went into the living room.

"I love you so much Bella," I said then sealed it with a kiss. Her lips were so warm, the kiss made me tingle all over.

"Even you don't like food, do you want to help me finish baking cookies?"

"Anything that lets me spend time with you is fine with me." We embraced one more time and made a team effort to bake cookies. It was the happiest night I have had in a long time.

_He better not break my Bella's heart again._ Obviously it would take a while longer for Charlie to accept me back into the family.


	17. Christmas Eve

**How appropriate to post a chapter about Christmas Eve, on Christmas Eve! :D Happy Holidays everyone! **

BELLA POV

Edward and I laughed as we saw Emmett and Jasper trying to arm wrestle on Christmas Eve. Jasper and Emmett were fairly even, though Emmett was a bit stronger than Jasper. Edward and Alice already knew who was going to win, but still watched anyway. We were all gathered around the dining room table that was usually used for family meetings. Carlisle and Esme wanted to have a Christmas Eve party, so they invited Charlie and myself over. Charlie watched with wide eyes as Jasper and Emmett were growling at each other. Finally Jasper gave up and Emmett emerged victorious. Emmett flashed a perfect smile to Rosalie and she flaunted Emmett around on her arm. Charlie and Carlisle were watching basketball in the other room and looked to see Emmett rubbing his victory in Jasper's face.

Esme made a mountain load of food. I was stuffed full of the best food I had ever consumed. I was so surprised watching all of the Cullens consume their food. They had smallish portions, but it was a human sized meal. Edward looked at me and said, "Do you want dessert?"

"Ugh, no not now. I think I gained twenty pounds just from that meal."

Edward laughed and said, "I know, I think this food will not settle with my stomach either, but we did it to be polite."

"I know you did, and thank you Edward, it was very nice of you and your family to make sacrifices."

"It wasn't that big of a sacrifice, just means we'll all have to hunt later tonight to get the tastes out of our mouths."

"As long as you'll be okay, I was pretty concerned at first. Though the food was delicious, too bad you couldn't taste it."

"Yeah, everything tastes like dirt to me, so I guess I'll take your word for it."

"You should become a chef, if you guys are capable of making good food, but can't eat it. Restaurants won't have to worry about their employees stealing their food."

"Nice try, I don't think cooking is really my thing though." Edward laughed again and squeezed my hand. He then lead me to the piano and started to play my lullaby. Then he bridged into Esme's favorite song, and finally merged into Christmas music. Emmett, Rosalie, Jasper, and Alice all came into the room then and started singing along. Though the Cullens weren't religious, this was all apart of their charade. Edward told me once that they celebrated the winter solstice, however that day passed a couple days ago. Everyone sang except me. I refused to make a fool out of myself in front of everyone.

"Bella, come on, join in!" Alice said shaking my left shoulder.

"Oh, no way, you are not going to get me to sing!" I started to shake my head and crossed my arms.

"Please Bella? Do it for me?" Alice started to make the puppy-dog-pout face; she knew my weakness.

"No Alice, don't do that to me." I turned my head away and debated joining Charlie and Carlisle watching basketball.

"Bella, you don't have to do anything you don't want to, though this is for you." Edward replied softly.

Edward really knew my weakness. I sighed and said, "Okay, just pick one that I might know all the words to please."

Edward flashed a crooked grin and began playing 'O Christmas Tree' and I was thankful I watched _Charlie Brown Christmas_ every year when it was on tv. I reluctantly sang along and when the song ended everyone turned and stared at me.

"Bella, you have a beautiful voice," Emmett commented.

"Oh you're just saying that to make me blush," I spat back.

"No Bella, he's right." Jasper said.

The rest of the Cullens shook their heads in agreement and looked at me in awe. My voice of course did not compare to theirs but they still looked at me anyway.

"Bella, I didn't know you could sing so well," Edward said grabbing my hand.

"Well I sing in the shower all the time, and I used to sing all the time when I was little, but I never thought I was any good."

"Bella, you are extraordinary!" Esme said walking into the room. "I was cleaning up dishes and I could hear your voice. It's very lovely."

I blushed madly and said, "Okay, enough singing for one night."

"I guess we shouldn't torture her anymore, though we should get her enrolled in a choir class!" Alice said.

"It's time to open presents anyway," Esme said and then clapped her hands twice. Carlisle turned off the tv and came into the room. I went and grabbed the presents I got for each of the Cullens. I thought about it long and what to get, and I know Alice already knew what her present is. I hoped Edward didn't ask Alice what his present, I want to see him surprised.

"I'm not opening any presents until all of you open your presents!" I said passing out each present to the corresponding Cullen. Each took a seat in a circle, and Edward remained on the piano bench.

"I'll go first!" Alice said. She delicately unwrapped the paper and revealed a small box. She opened it and said, "Oh how great Bella! This will be a blast!" Alice was an excellent actress, I knew she actually liked her present, but she seemed very surprised so Charlie would not be suspicious. I had gotten Alice a pair of concert tickets, and the plan is to go together. We discovered a new band together and loved them so much we wanted to see them in concert. "Thank you so much Bella, I'm so excited! Maybe we can meet the band..." I knew the rest of us had lost her to fantasies.

"I'll go next," Jasper said, breaking the silence. He opened the box to find a very nice burgundy sweater. "Oh Bella, what a great color! I've been running low on sweaters." I had been apprehensive getting Jasper clothes, but I could not think of anything else to get him. He liked it all the same, and that made me happy.

"Okay, my turn then," Rosalie said quietly. Even though Rosalie and I do not normally get along with each other, we still exchange gifts, and I felt the need to put some thought into it. She unwrapped the paper as delicately as Alice had and revealed another small box like Alice's. She opened it and gave me a sincere smile. She lifted a necklace out of the box and revealed a beautiful pink butterfly pendant attached to it. She put it on and it looked perfect against her pale skin. "Wow, Bella, it's so pretty. Thank you very much, I really appreciate it." I was surprised to get that reaction out of Rosalie, those were the most words I have ever heard her speak to me.

"Well since Rosalie went, it's my turn!" Emmett said triumphantly. He tore through the paper, yet still delicately and opened the box. He pulled out a U of W sweatshirt and held it against his chest. "Alright Bella! Thanks!!" He slipped it over his head and said, "You even got the size right, it fits!"

"I had a little bit of help with the size, but glad you like it Emmett!" I winked at Alice because she knew what size to get Emmett.

"Edward, would you like to go, or should Carlisle and I open our presents?" Esme asked.

"You two go ahead, I want to be the last," Edward replied.

Esme opened her present and got a U of W sweater. "Bella, this is so sweet of you, thanks very much." Esme bowed her head in my direction.

Carlisle opened his gift and received a book. "It's for your library," I said. "It's a new author and I found it at the bookstore. It looked interesting, so I hope you like it."

"It looks very interesting, I'll be sure to start reading as soon as I have time." He winked at me and I knew he would start it tonight. It warmed my heart knowing Carlisle liked his gift too.

"Okay, now for my turn," Edward said as he began to unwrap his present. He opened the box and found a picture frame with the two of us smiling widely. The picture was taken a couple days ago and the picture frame said 'love' along the outside. On the back of the frame there was an engraving on the wood. It said:

_Edward, I love you so much, always and forever. I am so lucky to have met someone as wonderful as you. Love, Bella._

If Edward could cry, he would have. He looked up at my face and gave me the biggest smile I have seen ever. "Bella, love, this is wonderful. This present has everything, and all you ever needed to give me was you." He bent down and kissed my forehead.

"I'm glad you like it Edward, I spent forever thinking about what to get you."

"Well, now it's time for Bella and Charlie to open their presents!" Carlisle said grabbing some of the presents under the Cullen Christmas tree.

"Oh you guys didn't have to get me a present," Charlie said.

"Oh no no we insist!" Carlisle said.

Carlisle set a present in front of Charlie and said, "All of us pitched in to get you this, we hope you like it."

Charlie unwrapped the present and opened it. He was in shock, his eyes permanently glued to the box. It was a new laptop that Charlie had been eyeing since it was released. "Oh my gosh! This is such an expensive gift, you guys shouldn't have done this. Wow, this has only been out for three weeks!" Charlie was now giddy and excited.

"Okay Bella, time for your presents!" Esme said. She handed me a couple boxes. She pointed to one and said, "This one is from Carlisle, myself, Emmett, and Rosalie." I carefully unwrapped the paper being cautious the last time I unwrapped presents around the Cullens I almost died. I opened the box and found a new iPod Touch!

"Holy crap!" I exclaimed. "This is amazing, thank you all so much! I can't believe it, I've wanted one of these for so long!"

"This is to replace your lame CD player," Emmett said.

"Thanks everyone, this is really wonderful!"

I reached for the next box and saw it was from Alice and Jasper. I unwrapped the paper and found a gift certificate of one hundred dollars to Macy's in a little box. "Wow, thank you so much Jasper, Alice. You guys do know how much I need new clothes." I gave them hugs and sat back down looking at the iPod.

"Bella, you get to wait for my present until it's actually Christmas," Edward said. I wondered immediately what Edward could have possibly gotten me, I already have everything I need.

"In that case, thank you all so much, this has been wonderful," Charlie said. "I'm afraid it's getting late though, we should let you guys rest and leave you alone." Charlie got up and shook Carlisle's hand and gave a short hug to Esme. "Come on Bells, let's get going, I bet you're tired."

Disappointed that we already had to leave, I turned to everyone and said, "Well thank you all so much, you guys are very generous. I'm sure I'll see you all tomorrow!"

Everyone gave me a thanks in return and an early 'Merry Christmas'. Charlie and I went home and before Edward came through my window I started putting music on my iPod. Charlie already went to bed so I knew I would not have to worry about him telling me to go to bed. I assumed Edward was out hunting to get rid of the dirt taste in his mouth. I became anxious and could not breathe for a minute. Eventually he slid through my window as quiet as a mouse.

"Ah, there you are!" I said trying not to be too loud. Charlie's snoring picked up slightly.

"I'm sorry I made you wait, I needed to hunt a couple deer, now I'm doing okay."

"Good to know. Wow I can't believe your family gave me an iPod, this is so generous of them."

"Well your gifts are generous too, after you left everyone either put on their gifts, started reading them, or in my case I put it on my desk in my room. I really love the gift you gave me Bella, it's perfect in absolutely every way."

"I wracked my brain trying to get something that would send the right message, and I guess that did the trick."

"Yes, because you are in it and it came straight from your heart." Edward wrapped his arms around me and kissed my cheek. I looked at the clock on my wall and it said eleven fifty-five.

"Five more minutes until Christmas!" I said.

"Well you're not getting your present 'till morning, and I think you're going to like it."

"Now I'm anxious, do I get any hints?"

"No!" I already knew that was coming, but I thought I would try anyway.

"Well there is one more surprise for you," I said.

"What is it?"

I walked over to the door and pointed up to the ceiling. There was a mistletoe hanging that I installed just that morning. The whole thing seemed cheesy, but I wanted to do it anyway.

Edward laughed and said, "Wow, you really want to enjoy everything about Christmas, don't you?"

"Yes indeed, this will be my last Christmas as a human, I'm getting the most out of it." Edward's smile disappeared.

"So, you are still going through with it at the end of the school year?"

"Yes Edward, forever is where I want to be as long as it's with you. This is what I want, and I hope you'll be happy for me."

"Of course Bella, anything that makes you happy, makes me happy."

"Well, it's midnight, and I'm standing under a mistletoe..."

"Oh, why no one should be left underneath a mistletoe!" Edward said sarcastically. He waltzed over to where I was standing and put his arms around my waist. He bent down slowly and kissed me with a great joy. This kiss lasted a full minute and when Edward finally pulled apart I had to sit down because I was so dizzy. He came and sat next to me on my bed and caressed my cheek.

"Merry Christmas Bella. You are my one and only love, and I'm glad I can spend this magical holiday with you." He started humming my lullaby and rocked me back and forth in his arms. Within seconds I fell into a deep sleep and dreamed of egg nog and Christmas carols.


	18. Christmas Day

**Christmas chapter! yay! I hope you all like it. Merry Christmas!**

When I woke up in the most perfect man's arms I sighed happily and sat up to face him.

"Good morning Bella, love. Merry Christmas!" He bent down and kissed my cheek.

"Good morning to you, my love of my existence! Merry Christmas as well." I caressed his icy cold face.

I heard the coffee pot roar downstairs, and I forgot that Charlie actually was home for a change. "Aw, you'll have to leave in a few minutes Edward, Charlie's actually home."

Edward sighed, took one of my hands and said, "That's okay Bella, I need to pick up your present from home anyway."

"Still no hints?"

"No Bella, no hints, you'll see it soon enough." I pouted at him and started to get off the bed. Immediately Edward pulled me back into his arms and started tickling me. I had no choice but to giggle and give in. Immediately Edward froze and disappeared. I heard footsteps come up the stairs and I pretended I was still asleep.

"Bella?" Charlie said as he opened my door. "Oh I guess you're still asleep. Huh, thought I heard noise."

"Charlie?" I said pretending to be groggy.

"Morning Bells, Merry Christmas!"

"Merry Christmas to you too dad."

"Come down for breakfast, I have cinnamon rolls and eggs already made."

"You? Cooked breakfast? Is it safe to eat?" I said jokingly.

"It seems perfectly safe to me, but you don't have to eat it if you don't want to!"

"I guess I can trust it, be down in a minute." Charlie closed my door and walked downstairs.

"Edward?"

"Yes love?" Edward appeared from my closet, I was worried he already ventured back home.

"Just making sure you were still here." I walked over to him and flung my arms around his neck and we rocked back and forth, almost dance-like. I kissed his cold hard lips and then said, "Well guess it's time for breakfast."

"Yes, you should get some food in your system. I'll be over in a little while, enjoy your morning with Charlie." He gave me another sincere kiss and within a second he was already out the window.

I walked downstairs and saw presents underneath the Christmas tree. Charlie and I ate our breakfast with little discussion. We also opened our presents with few words, except exchanges of thank yous. Charlie got me a new chair for my dorm room, some new CDs, and pepper spray. I gave Charlie a new coffee mug, a couple new books, tickets to see the Seattle Sonics, and a few DVDs. After we exchanged our presents I went and took a shower. When I got out I heard a knock on the door and quickly went and changed. My heart sped up and I was excited for Edward's return.

However, it was not Edward at the door. Charlie opened it with a wide smile on his face. "Merry Christmas Billy and Jacob!" I was slightly disappointed, however this was a nice surprise.

"Bells, you better get down here, I have a good present for you!" Jacob shouted up the stairs.

"Coming Jake, jeez don't have a cow!" I hurried down the stairs with Jacob and Billy's Christmas presents in hand.

I set the presents down on the table and walked over to where Jacob and Billy were standing. Immediately Jacob gave me a bear hug and Billy said hello.

I gave Jacob his present and waited for him to open it. He gave me a smile and tore through the wrapping. He opened a picture frame with a wolf on it and it had a picture of us in his garage together. On the back it said:

_Jacob, you are my best friend forever._

"Wow Bella, this is amazing, thank you so much!" Jacob said. His eyes lit up and he pressed the frame to his body hugging it.

I gave Billy a pair of tickets to go see the Sonics with Billy. "Thanks so much Bella, this is exciting!"

"You're welcome, both of you."

Billy gave me a certificate to Starbucks, which I was very happy because buying their coffee burnt a hole in my pocket. Jacob thrust his present into my hands and I opened the box. Inside was a wooden clock in the shape of a heart. It was the most beautiful clock I've ever seen, it was purple with some maple wood around it. I felt the wood and it was smooth and delicate in my hands. "Thanks Jacob, this is beautiful."

"I made it myself, you can put it in your dorm room."

"That was my plan, it's wonderful, really thanks so much!" I gave him another hug and gazed at it again.

Later I went and put the clock in my room and I fixed lunch for everyone while they watched basketball. We all ate in front of the tv engrossed in the exciting game. However, my mind was preoccupied with other things. I was awaiting Edward's return and I grew impatient. I cleaned all the dishes and ran the dishwasher and finally progressed to cleaning the upstairs bathroom and my room.

Finally Jacob got up and announced, "Well Billy and I need to get going, we're having dinner with the rest of the reservation so we should get going. Thank you both so much for the presents and the food. It was really fun."

I nodded toward Jacob and gave him a light hug. "Thank you too Jacob, the clock is beautiful. Thank you too Billy." They left and I was anxious for Edward to come. When he didn't come right away I was concerned. I went back into my room and downloaded more songs onto my iPod. Another hour went by and no word yet. It was already four in the afternoon, had something happened to Edward? The phone rang and Charlie answered it.

"Bella?"

"Yes Charlie?"

"That was Edward, he says he's running late, and to wear something nice."

"Okay..." I said curiously. I looked through my closet and found a nice blue dress. It wasn't fancy, but it was better than my normal jeans and a tee shirt. I went into the bathroom and combed my hair and made myself look presentable. Finally there was a knock on the door. I ran downstairs and flung the door open.

"Hello Edward," I said trying to look calm.

"Hello love, sorry I left you waiting." So he had noticed that I was anxious.

"Oh, it's okay I was just cleaning and doing nothing important."

Edward walked into the house and wished Charlie a Merry Christmas. "Do you think I can steal Bella for the evening Charlie?"

"Well..." Charlie looked cross. "I guess that would be okay. Don't stay out too late."

"I'll be back before midnight Charlie," I said and grabbed Edward's hand.

We walked out to Edward's car and he opened the door for me and buckled me into the seat. He briefly kissed my face and then kissed my lips. We sped to his house, he opened my door, and took me in his arms. I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him again. He opened the door and the house was silent. Where was everyone?

"We're going to have an evening to ourselves, just you and me," Edward said deviously. He set me down at the dining table where it had a fancy table cloth, china, and candles set. Only the china was set for once person. "Make yourself comfortable Bella, dinner is almost ready."

I sat down at the table and folded my hands together. I could hear Edward humming and in a minute he came out with my dinner. It looked simply marvelous and it consisted of chicken, mashed potatoes, and vegetables.

"Dinner for the human," Edward said. He sat down next to me and waited while I ate my dinner. Each bite was better than the last; it was strange how someone who could not eat made food better than the finest chefs in the world.

"Edward, this dinner is delicious, how did you do it?"

"Well when you can't sleep you watch a lot of cooking shows, because that's the only thing that's interesting on tv past midnight." He laughed and said, "I'm glad you enjoy it though."

I was very near stuffed when I finally finished it. Edward took my plate and then came out with chocolate cake. I ate that slowly so I could savor every bite.

"Edward, you are going to make me fat if I eat anymore!" He laughed and shook his head and cleared that plate too.

When he came back he took my hand and lead me to the piano. He sat me down next to him and he started to play. I thought it would have been my lullaby, however I did not recognize the tune. Then he started to sing. I had not heard Edward sing before, but he had an excellent voice just like everyone else in his family. His music made my head dizzy. I started paying attention to the lyrics and discovered it was about me. When the song was over he bridged into my lullaby and played that too.

"Edward, you are the most wonderful boyfriend a girl could ever ask for," I said fighting back tears. "I just love you so much."

"Bella, I love you too, you are my big round beautiful sun that shines all the time."

"Since you can't come out into the sun Edward, I've always considered you my moon." He ended his song and faced me.

"I'm your moon? But if the sun shines all the time when does the moon come out?"

"Well the moon can be visible even when it's daytime. However when you were...." I paused for a minute. "...when you were....gone the moon didn't come out anymore."

"Funny, because when I left the sun didn't come out either."

Edward held my face and said, "I guess the sun and the moon can exist at the same time, because I can't live in a world without my sun."

"And I can't live in a world where the moon doesn't shine like it does when you're around." I said.

Edward pressed his cold lips to mine and I felt an electric shock pass through me though it did not frighten me. When he pushed away he whispered my name and stroked my cheek.

"I almost forgot!" Edward said, his topaz dreamy eyes grew wide. "Your present!"

"You mean, none of this is my present, it's awfully nice and I wouldn't expect anything else!"

"Well, I really just wanted a romantic evening with you, and it seemed like a good opportunity seeing as the rest of the family is out hunting tonight." He was gone for a minute and then came back in a flash. "This is for you Bella, Merry Christmas."

He handed me a small box with a bow on top. I opened it slowly and inside were a pair of diamond earrings. They were beautiful and my eyes grew wide in shock. "Edward, these are beautiful, but they look so expensive!"

"I know, but you are worth it Bella." Then he handed me a second box, this one was a little bit bigger.

"Wait a minute, I thought there was only one present?"

"Well, there are two, I just didn't want you to freak out so I said there was only one." I looked at him and rolled my eyes as I opened the box and revealed a diamond heart-shaped necklace. This was even more beautiful than the earrings.

"Edward, you really spoiled me. Thank you so much." Tears began flowing out of my eyes and I blushed a ruby-red color.

Edward helped me put on my necklace and said, "There, now you officially have my heart forever." He kissed both of my cheeks and smiled at me. Edward wiped my tears and held my face to his chest. We sat there for probably half an hour until he said, "I think I probably have to get you home now, Charlie won't be happy with me."

I tried to protest and give him the sad eyes, but he just laughed and scooped me up in his arms. This evening has been perfect in every way. The ride back home seemed the quickest ever. Edward kissed me again before walking me to the door.

"See you in a bit," he said and winked. I walked in the door dazzled and could barely hold myself upright.

"Did you have fun Bella?" Charlie asked.

"Yes Charlie, I really did."

"Oh," Charlie said sounding disappointed. He still felt ill feelings toward Edward, and I knew that was never going to change.

There was an awkward silence for a minute until I said, "Well, I think I'm going to go to bed, I'm bushed."

"Okay Bells, sounds good. Thank you again for the presents."

"And you too dad, Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas to you too."


	19. New Year's Eve

**This is an interesting chapter. I remember being pissed when I wrote it and so it almost went the opposite direction than what it ended up now. Don't worry don't worry, it's okay. :D**

I blinked and a week had gone by. It was New Year's Eve and I was at the Cullen household once again. Charlie went over to Billy and Jacob's earlier in the day, so I was free to do whatever I wanted. Edward and I were watching Jasper and Emmett arm wrestle once again.

"Come on Jasper, give up!" Emmett said.

"Not a chance man, you've won the last three games, I need to redeem myself otherwise Alice will make fun of me."

"Don't bring me into this," Alice said. "There's always time to redeem yourself, though it is flattering that you care so much about what I think."

"Well I won't ever give you the chance to redeem yourself, Jasper I will always win, get over it!"

"I don't think so!" All of a sudden a sharp bang hit the table and Jasper defeated Emmett. I missed it because my eyes are too slow for vampire speed. "Ha, I WIN!" Jasper was next to Alice and she kissed him.

"I let you win," Emmett said rolling his eyes.

"Not a chance," Jasper said. "I beat you fair and square!"

"Rematch!" Emmett said. And they were off again.

"What do you say Edward, how about a game of chess?" Alice said.

"Ah, okay. You know how I like playing chess with you." Within a couple seconds the game was already brought out and set up. Alice moved first, but Edward sat there thinking about his strategy. None of them moved any more pieces because Alice had visions about Edward's moves and Edward knew which move Alice would take. Finally Edward knocked down his King and Alice smiled emerging victorious. The whole time I sat there stunned and realized I would never have a chance playing against Edward or Alice. Even though Edward cannot read my mind, he's been playing chess a whole lot longer than I have.

I walked to the piano where Esme was sitting. "Esme, what are you doing?"

"Composing a song, Edward isn't the only one that does that."

"Can I see hear it?"

"Well, it's still in the works, but I can let you see the words." Esme handed me the lyrics and let me look at them. It was as though she transcribed poetry into music.

"These lyrics are beautiful Esme, will you sing them for me when you're done?"

"I was rather hoping Bella that you would sing them. Your voice gave me such an inspiration the other day that I started composing."

Her words struck me and I was tearing up inadvertently. "Wow Esme, I'm flattered really. I don't know how to read music, so I'll have to learn it by ear."

"Okay, well give me half an hour and I'll be done with the ending and we can start working on it together."

I walked down the hall and wandered into Carlisle's office. The door was open so I went inside; the number of books always amazed me and sometimes I wonder if I'm in a library.

"Oh, hello Bella!" Carlisle said looking up from his computer.

"Hello Carlisle, am I interrupting you?"

"No no not at all! Do you need me for anything?"

"Not in particular, just wanted to drop by and say hello I guess. This room is my favorite one in the house."

"It's my sanctuary, I don't know where I would hide if I didn't have it." He laughed and pulled out the book I gave him for Christmas. "This is a very interesting book Bella, thank you very much for giving it to me. I've already read it twice."

"Well you're very welcome once again. Actually, I was wondering if you have any good books I might borrow? I'm in need for something new and figured you might have something worthwhile."

"What kind of book would you like? I'm happy to lend you anything, however a lot of this pertains to medical terms and common knowledge."

"Do you have any vampire books?"

"Well, yes actually I do. I found one a few years ago that was very well done. Would you like to borrow it?"

"Sure, I'm pretty interested in the background and such of vampires. I don't know much about the history except for what Edward told me of the Volturi a couple years ago. Even then I don't know much about them."

"I have a book about them too, course it talks about vampire myths and is mostly wrong, but some of the history is fairly accurate." In a flash Carlisle found the books and placed them in my hands.

"Thanks Carlisle, I'll read these when I get time and give them back."

"No problem, hope you enjoy them."

I walked out of the room and back down to the living room. Everyone seemed to be engrossed in their activities, almost like I was never there. I set the books next to my jacket and I wandered outside. There was an arctic breeze coming from the west, however it had no effect on me. I went and sat on a log and took in the scenery; it was so beautiful I wanted to savor it in my memory forever. I decided to go on a little hike, which seemed very out of character for me. I walked into the woods and memorized certain colorful stones or odd shaped branches so I could find my way back. Everything was at peace and the wind sailed through the leaves as though it was trying to make music. After a while I headed back, fortunately unscratched.

"Ah Bella, just the woman I was looking for," she said. Finally, someone who noticed me. "I finished the song and I think you'll like it." She started playing the unfamiliar tune and immediately the melody made my senses feel calm and relaxed. It was a beautiful piece of music, just as beautiful as the lyrics.

"Well, come on let's try it," Esme said giving me the lyric sheet. "It'll be easy just follow the melody and you'll understand it." She began the tune again and cued me in after the introduction. Esme was right, following the melody was easy. We had to stop and restart a couple of times because I did not hit the right pitch, but for the first time through sounded pretty good.

"Music to my ears!" Alice said as she wandered into the room. She then started harmonizing with me, and Esme made up the trio. When Esme ended the chord we all laughed at ourselves triumphantly.

"We should record this," I said. "We could make millions!" Alice looked at me sourly and I said, "Well I at least want it recorded for my benefit!"

The rest of the day was spent working on Esme's song. At about five-thirty I drove home to eat and spend a little time with Charlie. At eight I drove back to the Cullen household where Esme, Alice, and I practiced on Esme's song again. I still did not see Edward and I started to worry.

"Oh Bella I forgot to tell you to wear something nice!" Alice said. "It's a tradition that we dress up nice on New Year's Eve, well I guess you'll just have to borrow something of mine then." Before I could complain Alice took my wrist and led me into her room. She looked in her closet and pulled out a scarlet red spaghetti-strap dress. I awed at the dress thinking I could never pull that off in my wildest dreams. I put on the dress, however when I was done Alice was nowhere to be found. I looked outside of her room and noticed she was in the bathroom. Oh great, dress-up doll again.

"In here Bella!" Alice said in her sing-song voice. I followed her into the bathroom and she said, "My, my! Don't we look lovely!" I noticed she changed into a sequin-silver dress that went well with her pale skin. Alice could wear any color of the rainbow and make it look good. She started putting makeup on my face and kept saying, "hold still!" Finally after what seemed like eternity, she was done. She spun me around and let me look in the mirror, and she did a pretty good job. Though I was petty compared to her.

"Not bad Alice," I finally sad. We walked out of the room and down the stairs to where everyone else was waiting. Rosalie had changed into a plum sleeveless dress and Esme was wearing a dark blue dress. All the males were gone I noticed, what were they doing? I looked at the clock and it was ten at night. Was my New Year's Eve going to be spent with just the females of the family?

Alice, Esme, Rosalie, and I sat in silence for a while. Finally we heard a sound outside, then the males came back inside. Everyone, except Edward.

"Where is Edward? I'm really getting worried about him."

"He's just hunting," Jasper said calming my feeling of worry.

"Why did he have to do it now, I thought we were going to spend the whole day together? It seems like this morning he came and picked me up and then came here and ignored me." Alice and Jasper looked at each other like they knew something. "What's going on you guys? This isn't funny."

"Nothing's going on Bella, we just want you to have a good New Year's Eve."

My mind jumped to conclusions and I started to panic. My breathing became short and my heart raced at one hundred miles an hour. "Alice, has Edward left me again?"

"No Bella, no that's not it." Alice said. She looked like she was trying to hide something.

I started sobbing and ran outside. Alice came outside and put her hand on my shoulder.

"Bella, Edward isn't leaving, he'll be back later tonight. He just needed to hunt, that's all. You know how careful he has to be around you. I'm sorry to have frightened you, but believe me, Edward will never leave you ever again. Now please quit your crying, you'll ruin your face!"

I looked up at Alice who looked sincere. She must be right, she would not lie to me like this. I wiped my tears and followed her back in the house. It was nearing ten thirty and I put on a happy smile for the Cullens. I wondered why I immediately jumped to conclusions; I guess I am just so afraid of losing Edward again.

Finally at eleven the atmosphere changed. We were watching the Tonight Show and I had forgotten about my previous mood change. I heard the door open and close again and I wandered to the front door to see who it was. To my great fortune, it was Edward. He had a bouquet mix of red and yellow roses. He wrapped me in a giant hug and rocked me back and forth.

"I'm so sorry Bella," he began. "I heard Alice's thoughts while I was hunting, I shouldn't have frightened you by leaving so suddenly."

I looked into his honey eyes and knew he was telling the truth. He handed my bouquet with a crooked grin and kissed my cheek. I noticed he had changed into nice clothes; he was wearing slacks and a nice long sleeved shirt. Edward took my hand and lead me back into the room with the rest of his family. He pulled me onto his lap and wrapped his arms around my waist. The countdown had started toward the New Year.

"Some day, will you take me to Times Square to watch the ball drop?" I asked.

"But there are so many people, what if I make a mistake?"

"Well I'll be there, I could distract you. It's always been my dream to go watch the ball drop in Times Square. Please?"

"Sure, some year you tell me a few months in advance and we'll go."

"Yay!" I said giddily. I tilted my head toward him and kissed him briefly. The countdown said two minutes now.

"Bella, there's something I've been meaning to talk to you about..." Edward began.

With my eyes glued to the television I said, "Sure, what is it?"

"There's something I want to tell you, and I can't wait until later."

"Well, okay, make it quick the New Year is almost here!" I wanted Edward focused completely on me when it was midnight.

"I love you Bella," He began again.

"I love you too Edward," I said, wondering where he was taking this conversation. I turned and looked into his eyes.

"I want to spend eternity with you, I can't live in a world where you don't exist."

My eyes would flicker to the tv and the countdown on the screen said forty-five seconds.

"I completely agree, I don't want to live without you either."

"So...I was thinking..." He was struggling for words.

The ball was flashing all sorts of colors, and it was almost at the bottom of the pole.

"Edward, spit it out already, look it's almost midnight."

Twenty seconds on the clock. Each second seemed to pound in my heart as I waited to hear what Edward had to say. It was silent for a while.

"Isabella Marie Swan," He began again.

I turned and looked at him again because it was rare when he used my full name, this had to be serious.

"Five....Four.....Three....Two...." I heard the rest of the Cullens shout along with the people on the television.

"Will you marry me?" Edward said finally.

"HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!" The Cullens said. I stared in disbelief and almost asked if I heard correctly.


End file.
